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LUIGI VILLARI 


944 
N722 


FIRE AND SWORD 
IN THE CAUCASUS 


BY THE SAME AUTHOR. 
Oniform with this Volume. 


RUSSIA UNDER THE GREAT SHADOW. 


Tomput, NEAR NAKHITCHRVAM. ARMENIAN HoUSk PLUNDERED BY TARTARS. 
Photo by Grigoriants, of Tits, 


viece, 


FIRE AND SWORD 
IN THE CAUCASUS 


BY 


LUIGI VILLARI 


AUTHOR OF “RUSSIA UNDER THE GREAT SHADOW ' 
“ GIOVANNI SEGANTINI,” ETC 


ILLUSTRATED 


LONDON 
T. FISHER UNWIN 
NEW YORK 
JAMES POTT AND COMPANY 
MCMVI 


» 


282946 


(All rights reserved.) 


PREFATORY NOTE 


HE revolutionary outbreaks by which Russia 
has been disturbed from end to end during the 
last eighteen months, have assumed an exceptionally 
interesting aspect in the parts of the Empire inhabited 
by alien races. Old national ideals, which were 
believed to be buried and forgotten, others whose 
very existence few suspected, have sprung to life, 
armed and formidable. While the autocracy is 
fighting for its life against the onslaught of political 
and social revolution, its border provinces are seeth- 
ing with Nationalist discontent, and are a prey to 
violent uprisings. Poles, Finns, Letts, Georgians, 
Armenians, are all demanding the rights so long 
denied them, and their demands are backed by rifles, 
revolvers, and bombs. 

No part of Russia at the present moment is more 
full of acute problems of great interest for the 
student of politics than the Caucasus. There, side 
by side with Nationalist claims and bitter racial and 
religious animosities, we see attempts to realize the 
conceptions of Social Democracy ; together with evi- 
dences of medizval barbarism we find men actually 
putting the theories of Marx into practice. For 
many months the country has been the theatre of a 

6 


6 PREFATORY NOTE 


civil war, accompanied by every circumstance of 
horror. Thousands of people have been killed, 
hideous crimes have been and are still being perpe- 
trated, and a vast amount of property has been 
destroyed. The Russian authorities oscillate between 
brutal reaction and weak concession, with occasional 
lucid intervals of liberal statesmanship. Yet out of 
all this chaos of bloodshed and ruin some good may 
come, and, indeed, I am sure will come. For there 
will at last be a chance for the free development of 
those nationalities which have for so long been the 
step-children of a historic fatality. It seemed at one 
time as though these peoples, who have kept alight 
the torch of Christianity and civilization amidst the 
darkness of Oriental savagery for fifteen centuries, 
were destined to disappear, to be absorbed into those 
greater and more expansive races who are spreading 
their dominion all over the earth, or to be wiped out 
by more savage and less civilized fighting peoples. 
Such a state of things would have been in every way 
regrettable ; for while in all other parts of the world 
local patriotism and provincial ideals, which have 
given us so much in the way of political and social 
development, seem to be dying out, overwhelmed by 
the large, political units, it is only in such regions 
as the Mediterranean East that there are left, in the 
words of Mr. James Bryce, “nationalities with a 
capacity for developing into independent nations that 
may create new types of character and new forms of 
literary and artistic life.” * Moreover, some of these 


* Introduction to ‘The Balkan Question,” by various writers, 
p. 13. 


PREFATORY NOTE 7 


nations have achieved enough in the past to warrant 
us in the conviction that under favourable conditions 
they may do more, much more in the future. 


In writing the ensuing pages I have tried to 
present a sketch of this great Russian colony during 
what is perhaps the most critical period of its history. 
I spent several months, during the summer and 
autumn of 1905, visiting every important centre of 
political unrest in the Caucasus, and inquiring into 
the general conditions of the country ; for this pur- 
pose I consulted numbers of people of all classes, 
races, and religions, from the Russian Viceroy down 
to simple peasants, from the chief of the secret police 
to the Georgian revolutionary leaders, not to mention 
the editors of local papers, and the foreign residents 
and consuls; and I am bound to say that I found 
everybody, with rare exceptions, most anxious to 
assist me, and that I was treated with the greatest 
possible kindness and hospitality. It would be in- 
vidious to single out by name any of the people to 
whom I am so deeply indebted, while to include them 
all would fill several pages. I must, however, express 
my especial indebtedness to Mr. J. Gordon Browne, 
who was my travelling companion for the greater part 
of my trip, and by his thorough knowledge of Russia 
and of Russian was an invaluable and ungrudging 
helper. 

If I succeed in calling the attention of the public to 
the state of things in the Caucasus and in arousing 
some little sympathy in the civilized West for these 


8 PREFATORY NOTE 


struggling and suffering peoples of the East, my 
object will have been gained. I may perhaps seem 
to be unduly partial towards the Armenians, but all I 
can say in explanation of my attitude is that I went 
out with an absolutely unbiassed mind, and that the 
conclusions at which I have arrived are the result of 
inquiries from all sources, including many which are 
decidedly unfavourable to that nationality. I have 
dwelt particularly on this point, as the Armenians 
are certainly one of the most unpopular races of 
the East, and they have been grossly libelled by 
ignorant and prejudiced critics, including some of 
English nationality. 

The photographs, except when otherwise stated, 
are my own. 


L. V. 
March, 1906. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 
PREFATORY NOTE . . . . ; . § 


CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF RECENT EVENTS IN THE CAUCASUS 13 


CHAPTER I 

Tue Caucasus, 1TS PEOPLES, AND ITS HISTORY . . I5 
CHAPTER II 

EastwarRp Ho! ; . . ; . - 37 
CHAPTER III 

BaTUM . . ; . ’ : : » 46 
CHAPTER IV 

KUTAIS AND THE GEORGIAN MOVEMENT . . . 61 
CHAPTER V 

THE GURIAN “REPUBLIC”  . . . . . 84 
CHAPTER VI 

TIFLIS : . . : ‘ . . 100° 
CHAPTER VII 


PERSONS AND POLITICS IN THE CAUCASIAN CAPITAL . - 120 
9 


10 CONTENTS 
CHAPTER VIII 


ARMENIANS, TARTARS, AND THE RussIAN GOVERNMENT 


CHAPTER IX 


BAKU AND THE ARMENO-TARTAR FEUD. 


CHAPTER X 


BLOODSHED AND FIRE IN THE OIL Clty 


CHAPTER XI 


THE LAND OF ARARAT . 


CHAPTER XII 


THE HEART OF ARMENIA 


CHAPTER XIII 


Russia’s New ROvUTE TO PERSIA 


CHAPTER XIV 


NAKHITCHEVAN AND THE May MASSACRES 


CHAPTER XV 


ALEXANDROPOL AND ANI 


CHAPTER XVI 


OVER THE Frosty CAUCASUS. 


CHAPTER XVII 


RECENT EVENTS IN THE CAUCASUS . 


INDEX 


PAGE 


- 144 


. 176 


. IQ! 


. 209 


. 232 


. 251 


. 265 


. 292 


. 312 


- 326 


» 343 


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


TUMBUL NEAR NAKHITCHEVAN. ARMENIAN HOUSE PLUNDERED BY 


TARTARS ; . . . . Frontispiece 
WEST CAUCASIAN TYPES, NEAR BATUM . , . Facing p. 32 
ARDILER ON THE BLACK SEA COAST . . . ” 37 
GAGRY ON THE BLACK SEA . . . . . o 37 
MINGRELIAN CARTS . . . : ” 45 
‘*THE LAND OF THE GOLDEN FLEECE.” THE MOUTH OF 

THE RION. ‘ . . . . ” 45 
THE ‘* TZESAREVICH GEORGII " . . . ” 47 
BATUM. MOHAMMEDANS RETURNING FROM THE MOSQUE 

AFTER PRAYERS . ” 47 
BATUM. COSSACKS ON GUARD AT THE BLACK AND CASPIAN 

NAPHTHA AND TRADING COMPANY'S CASE OIL WORKS ” 54 
CHAKVA, NEAR BATUM. DRYING TEA-LEAVES ON THE 

IMPERIAL ESTATE . . . ; . ” 59 
MOHAMMEDAN AT PRAYER . . . . . ” 9 
KUTAIS. GEORGIAN TYPES . . . . ” 2 

’” HOUSES AND GARDENS ON THE RION . ; ” 64 
” PRIMITIVE NATIVE CARTS . . . ” 64 
MONASTERY OF GHELATI, NEAR KUTAIS . . . ” 69 
A GEORGIAN PRIEST . . . . . » 69 
OZURGETY. GURIAN TYPES AT THE POPULAR TRIBUNAL. ” 93 

- THE POPULAR TRIBUNAL . ‘ - 93 

” A VOTER AT THE POPULAR TRIBUNAL ; . ” 97 

” THE DESERTED COURT-HOUSE. . . ” 98 
MONASTERY OF MOTZAMETY, NEAR KUTAIS. . . ” 98 
TIFLIS. A COSSACK ON THE VORONTZOFF BRIDGE . ” 102 

» GROUP OF HIGHLANDERS . ° . . ” 102 

‘ THE MAIDAN, OR TARTAR QUARTER, AND CITADEL ” 107 

” TARTAR TYPES . . . : . ” 119 

1 NATIVE CART, WITH BUFFALOES . . . ” 112 

” MARTIAL LAW: THE SEARCH FOR ARMS . - 120 

” ” » AN ARREST. . ” 129 

” »» PEOPLE SEARCHED FOR ARMS . ” 129 
IN THE KARABAGH STEPPE. A SLEEPING TOWER . . ” 177 
CAMELS IN THE CAUCASUS . . . . . ” 177 
BAKU. GENERAL VIEW OF THE HARBOUR : . ‘ ” 184 
»» THE BIBI EYBAT OIL-FIELDS . ” 184 

" THE OFFICIAL RESIDENCE OF THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL ” 19! 

” COSSACK PATROL ON THE QUAY . . om 19! 

»» A QUIET DRIVE, WITH A SOLDIER ON THE BOX . ” 193 

” BIBI EYBAT OIL-FIELDS. THE RUINS . . . " 193 

” RUINED DERRICKS AT BIBI EYBAT. . . ” 197 

” AFTER THE FIRES AT BIBI EYBAT . . ” 197 

” CORPSES IN THE CEMETERY AT BALAKHANY . » 202 

»» TARTAR WORKMEN ° . . . . i” 206 
ARMENIAN WORKMEN . . . . - 206 


MOUNT ARARAT , . . . . . . ” 209 
ll 


12 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


ARMENIAN TYPES. . . . . Facing p. 212 
ERIVAN. CARTS IN THE BAZAR . . . . ” 217 
” SHOPS . . . . . . ” 217 
” IN THE BAZAR : . . . . » 220 
” TARTARS IN THE BAZAR . : ” 220 

” IN THE COURTYARD OF THE MOSQUE CALLED 
GOK DJAMI. . . . . . ‘ 224 
ETCHMIADZIN. OUTSIDE THE WALLS . . ° - 233 
” THE RESERVOIR : ” 233 
” CATHEDRAL OF ST. GREGORY THE ILLUMINATOR rr) 237 
” ARMENIAN BOYS AT THE ACADEMY . ” 240 

” ARMENIAN BOYS; ARCHIMANDRITE IN THE 
CENTRE . . ; ” 240 
COSSACK TYPES IN THE TRAIN BN DESHABILLE . . ” 25! 
ON THE ROAD TO PERSIA. WAYSIDE STATION . . ” 256 
” ” SOLDIERS AT NURASHEN . ” 256 
” a TARTAR PASSENGERS FORAGING . ” 266 


‘9 ”” THE OLD METHOD OF CONVEYANCE 


AND THE NEW . : " 263 
” ” NAKHITCHEVAN STATION . : s 263 
NAKHITCHEVAN. GUARDIANS OF LAW AND ORDER . ” 265 
” SOLDIERS IN THE BAZAR. . . ” 265 
” TARTAR TYPES IN THE BAZAR . . » 267 
an ARMENIAN SHOPS PLUNDERED BY TARTARS ” 267 
” CORPSES OF ARMENIANS AFTER THE MAY 

MASSACRE. . . . . ” 270 
” A SHIAH MULLAH . - . ” 271 
” THE TOWER OF THE KHANS . . ” 273 
ARMENIAN VILLAGE PRIEST’S HOUSE . ’” 273 
ARMENIAN VILLAGE GUARD AT ALAGOZ-MAZRA . ‘ ” 277 
GROUP OF ARMENIAN VILLAGERS AT NAZARABAD . . ” 278 
NURASHEN. ARMENIAN CHURCH SACKED BY TARTARS . ’ 282 
DJAGRY. GENERAL VIEW. . , ” 283 
- HOUSE OF A RICH ARMENIAN BURNT BY TARTARS. ” 28 

” TARTARS AT THE INN. : . . ” 2 
GYAZ. ARMENIAN CHURCH PLUNDERED BY TARTARS . . ” 290 
VILLAGE GUARD AT KHAL-KHAL  . . ‘ . ” 292 
ANI CAVE DWELLINGS . . . . . ‘ 292 
ANI. WALLS VIEWED FROM WITHIN . . . - 297 
»» WALLS VIEWED FROM OUTSIDE . : . . ” 297 
» THE CATHEDRAL . . . . . ” 298 
»» CHURCH OF ST. GREGORY . . : . » 303 
»» THE CASTLE . . . . . ” 305 
»» GROUP OF TARTAR CHILDREN . : . . ” 310 
THE GEORGIAN ROAD. VIEW OF MTZKHET . . - 313 
” ” VIEW OF DUSHET . . . ” 313 
"9 ” GUDAUR AND THE SEVEN BROTHERS ” 315 
” ” NATIVE CARTS AT KAZBEK  , ” 317 
” ” PUBLIC DILIGENCE. . . ”» 317 
” " KOBI . . . " 318 
” ” VIEW OF THE KAZBEK . . " 320 
” DARIAL PASS . . . ” 322 
ROSTOFF-ON-THE-DON. BURNT JEWISH HOUSES . ” 322 

»  ¢ INTERIOR OF THE SYNAGOGUE AFTER 

THE POGROM . ” 325 
KUTAIS. SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC DEMONSTRATION IN OCTOBER. ” 331 


” COSSACKS ON GUARD . . . . » ~~ «331 


CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF RECENT 
EVENTS IN THE CAUCASUS 


June 12, 1903. 


July ” 
Aug. ” 
Oct. %9 
Jan. 1904. 
July ” 
Dec. ” 
Jan. 14, 1905. 
Feb. 19 _ +s, 
Feb. 22 __—is 
March » 
May 18 _is,, 
May 24 _ ‘=F; 
May 25; 
June 5-6 ,, 
Aug. 29 to 
Sept.2  ,, 


Prince Golytzin confiscates property of Armenian 
Church. 

Strikes at Baku and on the Transcaucasian Railway. 

General Von Wahl goes from St. Petersburg to 
Baku to inquire into the condition of the town, 
where General Odintzoff is Governor. 

Armenians attempt the life of Golytzin. 

Prince Nakashidze appointed Governor of Baku. 

Golytzin departs from the Caucasus on leave, never 
to return. 

General Freze appointed acting Governor-General 
afterwards General Malama. 

Prince Nakashidze goes to St. Petersburg to confer 
with Golytzin, and returns soon after. 

Golytzin relieved of his functions. 

First outbreak of the Tartars against the Armenians 
at Baku (400 to 500 killed and wounded). 

Order restored. 

Small outbreak at Erivan. 

Count Vorontzoff-Dashkoff (appointed Viceroy in 
February) arrives at Tiflis. 

Prince Nakashidze murdered at Baku. 

Outbreak at Nakhitchevan (300 killed and wounded 
in town and district). 

General Alikhanoff sent to restore order. 

Second outbreak at Erivan (52 killed and wounded). 

Prince Napoleon appointed Governor-General of 
Erivan. Recalls Alikhanoff. 

Outbreak at Shusha (300 killed and wounded, 
damages estimated at 5,000,000 roubles). 

18 


14 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE 


Sept. 2-6, 1905. Second outbreak at Baku (600 to 700 killed and 
wounded, damages 25,000,000 roubles. 


Sept. 11 ,, Massacre of Georgian Social Democrats by 
Cossacks in the Tiflis Town Hall. 

Oct. 1  ,, Third outbreak at Erivan. 

Oct. 9 ,, Bombs thrown at the Cossacks at Tiflis. 

Oct. 28 ,, Railway strike begins. 

Oct. 30 ,, Constitutional Manifesto. 

Oct. 31 ~+,, Social Democratic and Armenian Demonstration at 
Baku. 


Nov. 1-4 ,, Third outbreak at Baku. 

Nov. 4-10,, | Demonstration and riots at Tiflis. 

Nov. 29 to Outbreak between Tartars and Armenians at 

Dec. 3 » Elizavetpol. 

Dec. 1-4 ,, Armeno-Tartar outbreak at Tiflis. Tartars from 
the country try to come into Tiflis. Fight with 
Armenians and Socialists. ‘Troops intervene. 


Dec. 28 ,, ( Political strike at Tiflis. Bombs thrown. Troops 
to bombard houses. Fierce reaction. Massacre of 

Jan. 6, 1906 railwaymen by troops. 

Jan. »» Serious revolt in Georgia; ferocious repression by 


Cossacks and soldiers. 


CHAPTER |! 
THE CAUCASUS, ITS PEOPLES, AND ITS HISTORY 


HE history of Russia has been a series of 

expansions to the west, the south, and the 
east, towards the open sea. Each territory occupied 
was, sooner or later, absorbed into the Empire of 
which it became in every way an integral part. The 
fact that Russia was not separated from her colonial 
possessions by the sea made the process of absorption 
easier, and the line of demarcation between the 
mother-country and her colonies is therefore less 
definite than in the case of Britain or France. 
Moreover, the fact that the Empire has hitherto 
been governed despotically made the question of the 
forms of government to be adopted in the various 
provinces less important than it is in constitutionally 
governed States. The general aim of the ruling 
classes has been to assimilate as far as possible every 
part of the Empire, from Poland to the Pacific Ocean 
and from the Arctic Sea to Mount Ararat. Yet as 
a matter of fact the conditions are very different, and 
while we have a central mass of Russian-speaking 
peoples, numbering more than half the entire popula- 
tion of the Empire and inhabiting a vast, monotonous 

16 


16 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


zone of plains, on the borders there are provinces as 
different from Russia proper and from each other 
as any in the dominions of England. Of all these 
border-lands, none exceeds in interest that region 
known as the Caucasus. Its giant mountains, its 
magnificent scenery, its rich and varied vegetation, 
its extraordinary collection of different races, speaking 
countless languages, and representing almost every 
branch of the human family, its strange history and 
the beautiful monuments of its art, make of it a 
wonderland of romance, exercising a fascination on 
all who visit it. 

Caucasia is a broad isthmus between the Black Sea 
and the Caspian, traversed by a great chain of moun- 
tains rising toa height of 18,000 feet. Northof the range 
is a region of interminable plains, known as the Northern 
Caucasus, or Ciscaucasia, merging imperceptibly into 
the steppes of the Don and the Volga. Southwards 
is Transcaucasia, a semi-tropical country intersected 
by many smaller ranges of mountains, of which the 
most important are the so-called Anti-Caucasus and 
the Armenian group. The Caucasus divides Europe 
from Asia as by a great barrier of ice and snow and 
rock; at no other point are the two continents so 
sharply separated. Yet historically and ethnographi- 
cally the separation is not so absolute as it appears. 
The barrier, like other mountain chains, has not 
proved an insuperable one, and Asiatics have poured 
across it into Europe from time immemorial, and 
Europeans have entered Asia by the same route; at 
the same time some Western elements have come to 
the Caucasus by sea or overland through Asia Minor, 


ot THE CAUCASUS AND ITS PEOPLES 17 


and Eastern peoples uave penetrated from the north 
to the south. The two continents overlap, as it were, 
and we find Christian races of Indo-European stock 
south of the mountains, and Moslem Turanians in the 
northern steppes; sedentary and civilized peoples in 
Asia, barbarian nomads in Europe. But geogra- 
phically the character of the two regions is quite 
distinct; the Northern Caucasus is a continuation 
of the great plains of Russia, while the fertile valleys 
of western Transcaucasia and the arid deserts of the 
eastern provinces are redolent of the Asiatic East. 
In the north the chief rivers are the Terek and the 
Kuban, while in Transcaucasia the principal streams 
flowing into the Black Sea are the Rion (the ancient 
Phasis) and the Ingur, and into the Caspian flows the 
Kura, with its tributary the Araxes. The watershed 
separating the tributaries of these two streams marks 
the division of Transcaucasia into a western and an 
eastern province. 

The natural resources of the Caucasus are enor- 
mous, and hitherto little more than tapped; under an 
orderly and progressive government it would be one 
of the richest countries in the world, and as it is 
it offers a striking contrast to the blighted lands 
beyond the Turkish frontier. Every kind of cereal 
and vineyards flourish on both sides of the range, and 
Transcaucasia—the Colchis of the ancients—produces, 
in addition, fruit of all sorts, tobacco, cotton, tea, and 
other tropical plants in abundance. Immense tracts 
of virgin forest cover a large part of Georgia, as well 
as the slopes of the Caucasus, ill-preserved and neg- 
lected, but still of immense value. Besides agricul- 

2 


18 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


tural wealth, the mountains teem with precious 
minerals ; coal exists in Georgia and in the Kuban 
territory, and the manganese mines of Chiatury, near 
Kutais, produce half the world’s supply of that 
mineral ; the Elizavetpol mountains are rich in 
copper, and those of Armenia in salt. Most im- 
portant of all are the vast oil-fields of Baku, pro- 
ducing 600,000,000 puds of naphtha per annum, and 
other smaller fields are beginning to be developed. 
But the political disorders to which the country has 
been a prey since the earliest beginnings of history— 
wars, revolutions, and brigandage—have impeded its 
development. Even under the zgis of Russian rule, 
when the land should have developed at all events 
as much as Poland or Central Russia, the troubles 
continued and progress has been slow. Nor has the 
administration done all that it might have done to 
promote the welfare of the country. The few roads 
are ill-kept and allowed to fall into disrepair; there 
are only two or three lines of railway, badly managed 
and insufficient ; the public services are disorganized ; 
public safety is a thing unknown. Trade has been 
hampered by vexatious fiscal regulations, and the 
influx of foreign capital is discouraged. Education 
has been neglected, and where the natives provided 
their own, actually hindered, so that the ignorance of 
large parts of the country is greater even than in 
Russia. In fact, in spite of certain elements of 
civilization, the Caucasus has remained for the most 
part a very barbarous land. Its mountainous nature 
and the savage character of many of the peoples 
inhabiting it are in part, no doubt, responsible for 


THE CAUCASUS AND ITS PEOPLES 19 


this state of things ; but Russia’s efforts to dominate 
rebellious nature and rebellious man have not proved 
adequate to the task. 

More interesting than its geographical features and 
material resources are the peoples of the Caucasus. 
In no other region of its size in the world are there 
so many different races and languages. Macedonia 
contains seven or eight nationalities, but in com- 
parison with the Caucasus, with its fifty or sixty, it is 
but a poorly-stocked ethnographical museum. Since 
the earliest times this country has been famous as a 
meeting-place of many races and many tongues. 
Strabo tells us that there were seventy different 
peoples in the Caucasus; Pliny, with greater exag- 
geration, says that three hundred languages were 
spoken in the markets of Colchis. For over two 
thousand years the Caucasus has been in the path- 
way of numberless migrations of peoples; but the 
nature of the land was such that each people that 
passed left some of its members behind, some 
fragment which survived unchanged in_ secluded 
valleys and rocky fastnesses. Once a community 
was settled here it was very difficult for a new 
invader to expel it totally ; some small part was sure 
to remain behind resisting all assaults, until the second 
invader in his turn was forced to defend himself against 
a third. 

I shall not attempt to enter into the thorny path of 
Caucasian ethnography—one which has not really been 
properly explored even by those who are really com- 
petent, and many problems remain yet unsolved. But 
it is necessary to say a few words on the distribution 


20 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


of the chief races in order to make certain aspects 
of the political situation clear. The question of the 
Caucasian races and their division may be regarded 
from several points of view. If we consider it purely 
in its scientific bearings, we must divide them into 
white races and yellow or Mongol races ; the white 
must then be subdivided into Indo-Europeans, 
Semites, and pure Caucasians, and the Mongolians 
into Turkish peoples and pure Mongols. This is, of 
course, only one method ; others may adopt a different 
though equally scientific system. But from a political 
point of view divisions of this kind are apt to be 
confusing, for we find Russians, Armenians, Kurds, 
Persians, and Tates bracketed together as Indo- 
Europeans ; Georgians, Lezghins, and Abkhazians 
united among the pure Caucasians; and Turks and 
Tartars treated as a single family. From a political 
point of view Tartars and Tates should be bracketed 
together, for although of widely different racial origin, 
they are both Shiah Moslems and practically form one 
nationality. Also Russians and Armenians, although 
both labelled as Indo-European, are widely separated 
by political considerations. Moreover, certain isolated 
' fragments of peoples, perhaps not more than a few 
thousand strong, may have an immense scientific im- 
portance, and yet politically be a negligible quantity. 
For instance, the Ossets, inhabiting the western part 
of the Central Caucasus, offer many interesting pro- 
blems to the ethnographer and the philologist; but 
they have never come to the fore in the recent political 
history of the country. The people of Daghestan, 
who are split up into several dozen different races and 


THE CAUCASUS AND ITS PEOPLES 21 


countless tribes, many of them as yet unclassed and of 
unknown origin, although they played a great part in 
former times, and under Shamy] resisted the Russian 
advance with desperate valour, their name is seldom 
even mentioned in the accounts of recent events. 
Politically we may divide the Caucasian peoples into 
the following groups: Khartvels or Georgians, Ar- 
menians, Tartars, Russians, Eastern mountaineers, 
and Western mountaineers; the mountaineers, how- 
ever, have practically no political importance at the 
present time. | 

The Khartvel or Georgian group occupies the 
whole of Western Transcaucasia, spreading as far 
east as the Alazan valley and as far south as the 
Turkish frontier, but its chief centres are the valleys 
of the Rion and the Ingur. The Georgian population 
numbers about. 1,800,000, and they are all Orthodox 
Christians, except the Adjars in the mountains near 
Batum, who were converted to Islam. They belong to 
the Aryan family, but form part of a group of peoples 
more or less autochthonous to the land, and having 
very little connection with other Aryan races. Their 
language, although Aryan, has peculiarities which 
distinguish it from all other tongues, even those of 
other autochthonous Caucasian races, to whom, how- 
ever, it is probably allied ; in the course of time it has 
been modified by infiltration of Persian, Armenian, 
Turkish, Greek, and Arabic elements. The Georgians 
are subdivided into Georgians proper, or Khartvels 
(Khartlins), inhabiting the central part of the country ; 
Kakhetins, east of Tiflis; Imeretins, round Kutais; 
Mingrelians, between Kutais and the sea; Gurians, 


22 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


in the district of Ozurgety ; Pshavs, Khevsurs, and 
other highlanders, in the mountains north of Tiflis 
and along the Georgian road; Svanets, in the moun- 
tains north of Kutais. Each of these branches has 
its own dialect, but of late years the various local 
patois have been tending to disappear and a single 
literary language has been universally adopted. They 
form the largest and most compact racial mass in the 
whole of Transcaucasia. 

Eastern Transcaucasia is inhabited chiefly by 
Armenians and Tartars. The Armenians or Haiks, 
number 1,200,000 in Russian territory, but the 
greater part of this people is still in Turkey. They 
are apparently of the Iranian branch of the Indo- 
European group, and their language seems to have 
considerable affinity with Zend, but it contains im- 
portant Semitic elements, and many Georgian, 
Turkish, and Persian words. The Armenians are 
found mostly in the Governments of Erivan, Tiflis, 
Elizavetpol, and Baku, but that of Erivan is the 
only one in which they are a majority. By religion 
they belong to the Gregorian Church. * 

The Tartars are a Mongol people closely allied to 
the Ottoman Turks, and their language is a patois 
of Turkish. They originally came from Central Asia, 
and invaded the Caucasus from Azerbajan (North- 
Western Persia); they are, in fact, described as Azer- 
bajan Tartars, to distinguish them from the Kazan and 
the Crimean Tartars. Their habitats are the govern- 
ments of Baku, Elizavetpol, Erivan, and certain 


* Further details concerning the Armenians and the Tartars will 
be given in Chapter VIII. 


THE CAUCASUS AND ITS PEOPLES 23 


districts of that of Tiflis, and they number 1,200,000. 
They are divided into a number of tribes or clans; 
to them are allied the 50,000 Nogai Tartars in the 
Kuban and Daghestan provinces, and 100,000 
Kumiks. In the Government of Baku there are 
also some 180,000 Tates, who, although of Iranian 
stock, and speaking a Persian dialect, are Shiah 
Mohammedans like the Tartars, and are gradually 
adopting Tartar ways and even the Tartar language. 
Here, as in other parts of the East, religion is a 
stronger tie than race or nationality, and practically 
all the Shiahs of the Eastern Caucasus are, for 
practical purposes, Tartars. On the other hand, the 
Sunni Mohammedans, whether Tartars, Turks, 
Lezghins, Kurds, or others, form a separate com- 
munity, who, save in certain cases, have taken no 
part in the Armeno-Tartar feud. 

Other Moslem peoples are the Turks and the 
Kurds, both of them Sunnis. The former number 
30,000 in the province of Batum, where they are 
more or less assimilated to the Adjars (70,000), and 
50,000, or 60,000 in the province of Kars. The 
Kurds are mostly nomad shepherds of the Govern- 
ments of Erivan and Elizavetpol and the province 
of Kars. | 

Next we come to the highlanders. In the Western 
Caucasus and along the Black Sea coast are the 
remnants of two autochthonous peoples, of great 
interest to ethnographers, who once played a 
large véée in these lands, viz., the Circassians, to 
whom are allied the Kabardins, and the Abkhazians. 
The Circassians resisted the Russian advance with 


24 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


desperate valour, and when the country was finally 
subjugated the great majority preferred to emigrate 
into Turkish territory. At present there are only 
a few thousand Circassians left out of a gallant 
nation of half a million. The Abkhazians who dwell 
in the mountains behind Sukhum Kalé are reduced to 
about 60,000, and the Kabardins on the north-east 
slopes of the range are 190,000. The prevailing 
religion of these people is Islam. The Eastern 
mountaineers dwelling in Daghestan and part of the 
Terek province, are an extraordinary medley of 
several dozen different branches, mostly autoch- 
thonous, but many of them undetermined, and 
speaking numbers of different languages, whose 
connections with each other are not always estab- 
lished. The Chechens (280,000) are warlike high- 
landers living in the mountains south and east of 
Vladikavkaz. Then come the Lezghins, Andians, 
and Avars, the Dargo, the Kyurins, the Udins, and 
many others. There is one mountain in Daghestan 
on the slopes of which are seven villages each 
speaking a different language; to communicate with 
each other they use the Avar tongue, which is a 
sort of fimgua franca of the district. Besides the 
native dialects Turkish and Arabic are also spoken. 
The Eastern highlanders are nearly all Sunni Moham- 
medans, and were almost welded into a single nation 
under the leadership of Shamyl, who held out 
against Russia in a long series of wars. The story 
of the Russian campaigns of Daghestan and Cir- 
cassia is among the most romantic episodes of 
Muscovite history. They are still warlike and brave, 


THE CAUCASUS AND ITS PEOPLES 25 


but have remained quiet during the last thirty 
years. 

Another highland people, who cannot, however, be 
classed as autochthonous, are the Ossets, occupying 
the mountains between the Georgian road and the 
Adai Khokh. Their language is Iranian, and, in fact, 
they call themselves Iron, and many of their customs 
are very similar to those of the primitive peoples of 
Western Europe, which gave rise to curious but un- 
tenable theories as to their relationship with the 
Germans. They number 120,000, spread over the 
governments of Tiflis and Kutais and the Terek 
province; one half of them are nominal Christians, 
and the other half nominal Mohammedans, but both 
sections practise pagan rites. 

Finally, we come to the Russians, who, although not 
an absolute majority, are the largest element of the 
population, and are, of course, the ruling race. They 
number about 3,000,000, but with the exception of 
some 150,000 they are all in the Northern Caucasus. 
In Transcaucasia they are merely soldiers, officials, 
small peasant colonies (chiefly sectarians) and a certain 
number of workmen at Baku, Tiflis, and Batum. In 
the Northern Caucasus the majority of them are in the 
Cossack colonies of the Terek andthe Kuban. Other 
races are: Greeks (55,000), some of them descended 
from the ancient Greek colonies on the Black Sea, a 
few thousand German colonists, Jews, Poles, &c. 

To sum up, we may divide the peoples of the 
Caucasus as follows :— 


26 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


Russians... eos 3,000,000, Or 30 per cent. 
Georgians ... ose 1,800,000, Or 20_—s—=»—» 

Shiah Moslems _... 1,300,000, OF 1345 approx. 
Sunni Moslems __... 1,500,000, Or 15, 


Gregorian Armenians =§ 1,200,000, Or 124‘, 


Total wee 9,248,695 


To attempt to write the history of the Caucasus 
would not only be very difficult, but hardly profitable. 
Until the Russian occupation the Caucasus had no 
unity. Geographically it 1s divided into two distinct 
parts by the great range. Ethnographically it is but 
a collection of miscellaneous samples. Historically it 
has always been split up between a number of different 
foreign States, and more or less independent princi- 
palities and tribes. Alexander the Great, the East 
Roman Empire, and the Arabs at various times 
laid claim to rule the whole country, but in practice 
they never actually did so. Russia is the first Power 
which has succeeded in uniting these scattered frag- 
ments. At the time of the Russian conquest Western 
Transcaucasia was divided into the kingdoms of 
Georgia, Imeretia, and Mingrelia, which had at an 
earlier period formed a single State. The Eastern 
provinces (Baku, Elizavetpol, and Erivan) were under 
Persian supremacy; Batum and Kars_ belonged 
to Turkey, who also had a nominal suzerainty over 
the Circassians. The mountain ranges were divided 
among a number of practically independent clans. 
This state of things had existed in a more or less 
modified form for several centuries, and in the wildly 
chaotic conditions of the country frontiers were un- 


THE CAUCASUS AND ITS PEOPLES a7 


certain and sovereign rights but vain things. The 
only part of the Caucasus which had a more or less 
consecutive national history was the kingdom of 
Georgia. , 

A Georgian or Iberian State had existed long 
before the Christian era, but very little is known 
of its history. The country received its first lessons 
in civilization from the Greek traders who established 
commercial colonies in Colchis, the fabled land of the 
Golden Fleece. In the III. century s.c., Alexander 
the Great conquered Iberia and established a Mace- 
donian administration. But a national hero, Pharna- 
bazes, led the people to revolt, expelled the Macedonian 
Governor, and founded a Georgian dynasty. Subse- 
quently the rights of his successors were disputed by 
the Armenian Arsakid dynasty, and in the IV. century 
King Mirian founded the Sasanid house. During his 
reign Georgia was converted to Christianity by St., 
Nina. The Greek Emperor sent a bishop and priests 
to Georgia and the king and people were baptized in 
332. Christianity was not, however, firmly established 
for some time, and in the V. century there was a 
religious war between the Christians and the fire- 
worshippers supported by the Persians. King Vakh- 
tang Gorgoslan (446-499) completed the conversion 
of Georgia and expelled the fire-worshippers ; in spite 
of frequent inroads by the Persians and the high- 
landers, Georgia now became a considerable Power 
in the Middle East. In 458 the first Georgian 
bishopric was founded, that of Mtzkhet, and in 542 
the Emperor Justinian recognized the independence 
of the Iberian Church, whose primate was henceforth 


28 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE OAUCASUS 


styled Katholikos. In the VII. century the Arabs 
invaded Georgia, and the ancient kingdom was split 
up into several principalities. Kakhetia seceded in 
the east, Imeretia, Mingrelia, and Abkhazia in the 
west, so that the then reigning dynasty of the 
Bagratids only ruled the country round Tiflis, under 
Arab auspices, and Tiflis itself was held by the 
Arabs. Under David (1001) and Bagrat III. Georgia 
was reunited once more into an independent kingdom, 
but soon after it was invaded by the Seljuk Turks, 
who laid it waste. 

David III. (1080), the Renovator, at last succeeded 
in expelling the Mohammedans and creating a new 
and greater Georgian kingdom, extending from the 
Black Sea to the Caspian, and from the Caucasus 
to Kars. He reorganized the country, suppressed 
brigandage and heresy, built churches, opened schools, 
and made Georgia a centre of culture and civilization. 
In 1184 the celebrated Queen Thamara came to the 
throne—a name still venerated as a glorious if half- 
legendary tradition wherever the Georgian tongue is 
spoken. Almost every church and every castle is 
attributed to her, and a whole host of legends has 
gathered about her personality. She does seem to 
have been a great woman, and to have raised her 
country to a high place among nations. She waged 
war successfully against both the Turks and the 
Greeks, and after the fall of the Byzantine Empire 
at the hands of the Crusaders she helped to form 
the Empire of Trebizond. But at her death in 1212 
the edifice, laboriously raised, crumbled once more. 
Her incapable successors were unable to resist the 


THE CAUCASUS AND ITS PEOPLES 29 


ever-recurring onslaughts of the Moslems from the 
south and the highlanders from the north. First 
Genghis Khan’s Mongol hordes, ‘then the Persians, 
then again in 1236, the Mongols raided Georgia 
and made themselves for a time masters of the 
country. For the next three hundred years it is a 
prey to invasion, civil war, and Mongol oppression. 
In 1387 and 1393 it suffered at the hands of Timur 
the Tartar, who desolated the land with fire and 
sword. The XV. and XVI. centuries are one long 
record of Turkish and Persian invasions and occupa- 
tions, as a result of which several of the native 
- princes became Moslems, and Oriental customs 
penetrated into the country. Massacre, bloodshed, 
treachery, and cruelty are the staple elements of 
Georgian history during this period, lit up at rare 
intervals by flashes of heroism and sublime patriotism. 
The Persians were now the real rulers of Georgia, 
but they usually delegated their authority to native 
kings of proven fidelity. Some of these honestly 
tried to better the conditions of the people, and 
aspired to ultimate independence. One of them, 
Vakhtang VI. (1675-1737), although outwardly pro- 
fessing Islam—to which fact he owed his nomination 
as King of Georgia by the Persians—managed to 
re-establish a measure of order in the land, to unite 
the scattered provinces, and to promote an intellectual 
revival. It was in his reign that relations with 
Russia were first established, for with the help of 
the Muscovite Tzars he hoped to shake himself free 
of Persia and obtain protection from his various 
dangerous neighbours. The Moslem Powers, by 


30 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


their perpetual incursions and their savage oppres- 
sion, threw the Christians of the Caucasus into the 
arms of Russia and led to their own eventual down- 
fall. In 1722 Peter the Great concluded an alliance 
with Vakhtang, with a view to the expedition 
to Derbent and Baku. In the following year the 
Georgian king openly declared himself independent 
of Persia, and sent an army of 30,000 to assist the 
Russians. But to his surprise and dismay Peter 
concluded a separate peace treaty with Persia in 
1724, acknowledging the latter's suzerainty over 
Georgia. Thus left to herself Georgia was overrun 
by hordes of Turks and Persians who came to wreak 
their vengeance on her for having helped their enemy. 
The highlanders profited by the enfeebled state of 
the country to pour down into the valleys and plunder 
the inhabitants. Revolts broke out, and Vakhtang 
was deposed and died in exile in 1737. The 
object of Russia was so to weaken Georgia that 
its absorption into the Empire should become in- 
evitable, and this policy was consistently followed 
for nearly a century, and with ultimate success. 
Catherine II. instructed her agents and generals in 
the Caucasus “to do nothing likely to strengthen 
Georgia.” 

In 1736 Nadir Shah had succeeded to the Persian 
throne, and was friendly to the Georgians. He freed 
the country from the Turks, and eventually placed 
Irakli II. on the throne. Irakli (1744-1798) was one 
of the most remarkable men of his time, and excited 
the admiration of all Europe; under him Georgia 
revived and prospered, and became for the last time 


THE CAUCASUS AND ITS PEOPLES 31 


a powerful and independent State. Culture and 
civilization spread, order and unity were achieved, 
and the neighbouring Tartar khanates reduced to 
vassalage; Imeretia, however, remained a separate 
kingdom under King Solomon. On the death of 
Nadir Shah Persia fell into a state of anarchy and 
civil war, and Irakli declared himself independent. 
But the Turkish danger became menacing once more, 
and the two Georgian missions to Joseph II. of 
Austria, asking for help against the Sultan, having 
failed, Irakli was persuaded to ally himself with 
Russia in 1769, as that Power was meditating a new 
Turkish campaign in which Austria promised to take 
part. War was declared, and the Russo-Georgian 
armies met the Turks near Akhaltzykh, but Irakli, like 
Vakhtang, was left in the lurch by his treacherous 
allies, who retired from the field of battle. By a 
superhuman effort he succeeded in defeating the 
Turks single-handed; but they soon returned in 
greater force, and Persian hordes, under the ferocious 
Aga Mohammed Khan, also poured into the unhappy 
land. Again Georgia was fearfully devastated, and 
in 1795 the capital Tiflis was burnt and captured by 
the Persians. Irakli managed to recapture the city a 
short time afterwards and expel the Persians from the 
country, but he was weakened and broken, and in 
1798 he died. His son and successor, George XIII., 
entered into negotiations with Persia, but the Tzar 
Paul outbid the Shah, and in 1799 a Russo-Georgian 
treaty was concluded and confirmed in the following 
year. By its provisions King George, the magnates, 
the clergy, and the people of Georgia declared that 


32 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


they wished to become Russian subjects; but the 
crown was to be vested in George and his heirs, who 
were to retain the chief authority in the country but 
without legislative powers; the people were to enjoy 
immunity from taxation for twelve years ; the number 
of Russian troops in Georgia was not to exceed 6,000, 
and military service for the Georgians was to take 
the form of a national militia; the Georgian Church 
was to be independent ; and Georgian was to remain 
the official and educational language. This is how 
the treaty was observed. On the death of George 
his son, Prince David, succeeded, and was waiting to 
be confirmed; but in the spring of 1802 General 
Knorring entered Tiflis with a Russianarmy. On 
May 8th he summoned the nobles to hear the Tzar's 
manifesto read in the Sion Cathedral. Every one 
expected merely that the treaty of 1800 would be 
confirmed; but the manifesto declared instead that 
the Russian administration was to be introduced “for 
the good of the country,” and that an oath of alle- 
giance was expected of the Georgian magnates. 
This they indignantly refused, and they were about 
to return to their homes when they found themselves 
surrounded by troops outside the church. A great 
uproar followed, and some rioting; David was de- 
posed, and a number of prominent Georgians were 
arrested. The Russians treated Georgia like a con- 
quered country, the officials and officers beat and ill- 
used the natives, and outraged their women. The 
result was that risings broke out in various districts, the 
people refused to pay taxes, and David was approached 
by a deputation of Georgians and Armenians who 


*B8 bpd sonf of, 


‘MOLVG AVN ‘SEIAL, NVISVOOYD I55M 


THE CAUCASUS AND ITS PEOPLES 33 


offered to organize a general revolution ; but he refused, 
from fear of the Russians, and was eventually sent to 
live in Russia. The state of the country, however, 
became so alarming that the Government decided on 
a more conciliatory policy. Prince Tsitsiani, a 
Georgian noble of high rank related to the Royal 
house, was appointed Governor-General, and com- 
missioned to introduce an aristocratic constitution on 
a national basis. This was done, and for some years 
Georgia enjoyed a more or less native and moderately 
liberal government. Freed from the danger of Mo- 
hammedan and highland raids, the people developed, 
commerce prospered, and literature and culture re- 
vived. It seemed as though the country would be- 
come one of the most loyal and peaceful as well as 
one of the most progressive provinces of the Empire. 

But under Nicholas I. reaction set in, the censor- 
ship became more severe, and the Government tended 
to curtail the privileges of the people. This produced 
discontent, and led to the conspiracy of 1832, which 
was discovered before it had time to achieve anything, 
and numbers of Georgians of the best families were 
imprisoned or exiled. Gradually every vestige of 
constitutional government was suppressed, even the 
Church was placed under the control of the Russian 
Holy Synod and a Russian appointed Exarch, and 
the country reduced to the status of a conquered 
province once more. -Universal military service was 
introduced, and although it was never applied in its 
full rigour throughout the Caucasus, Georgians were 
sent to serve in Russian regiments in Europe and 
Siberia, while Russian army corps were quartered in 

3 


34 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


Georgia. Russian became theofficial language, every- 
thing was done to expel the Georgian tongue from the 
schools, and an attempt made to Russify the country still 
further by settling Russian colonies in Transcaucasia. 

To-day the Caucasus forms a Viceroyalty divided 
into twelve provinces (seven guderniz, or governments, 
and five odéas¢z, or military territories) governed like 
any other part of the Russian Empire, with the same 
type of administration and the same _ bureaucratic 
machinery. But as in certain other frontier regions, 
the Governor-General or Viceroy has authority over 
the provincial governors, and even wider powers than 
those of ordinary Russian governors, and the zemstva, 
or elective provincial councils, have not been intro- 
duced, although there are elective municipal councils. 
A further difference is that the personnel of the bureau- 
cracy is even worse than that of European Russia. 
According to a secret document of the police depart- 
ment, which was shown to me, during the period 1894— 
1898 the following officials were convicted of robbery, 
peculation, murder, and other crimes, and punished: 
19 district governors (Uyezduye Nachalntkt), 9 assis- 
tant governors, 83 frtstavz (police commissioners), 
and two town chiefs of police! If these were actually 
punished one may be quite sure that a far larger 
number committed crimes which remained unpunished. 

Russia does not distinguish between the various 
levels of civilization, nor between racial and re- 
ligious differences. In theory the Empire is one 
and indivisible, and every one has the same rights 
(or absence of rights) and the same duties, except 
in the case of the Poles and the Jews who are in 


THE CAUCASUS AND ITS PEOPLES 35 


a position of exceptional disability, and of the Finns 
who, until a few years back, enjoyed a wide measure 
of autonomy which they have recently regained. 
The Russians have none of that feeling of racial 
superiority over their non-Russian subjects, even 
when the latter are of a different religion and colour, 
such as the English feel with regard to the natives of 
India. A Georgian, an Armenian, an Osset, even a 
Tartar or a Persian may aspire to the highest ranks 
in the army or the bureaucracy. Russian soldiers, 
officers, and officials have no repugnance to serving 
under a non-Russian chief, whether he be white, 
brown, or yellow, Christian or Mohammedan. Thus 
we find Georgian generals like Prince Chavchavadze 
and Prince Orbeliani, Armenian generals like Lazareff, 
Loris Melikoff, Argutinsky, and Tergukassoff, Tartar 
generals like Alikhanoff Avarsky, Georgian governors 
like Tsitsiani and Nakashidze, not to mention many 
officers and civil servants of lower rank. Nor is there 
even any objection to non- Russians receiving appoint- 
ments among peoples of their own race. Socially, 
too, they are treated as equals, and Georgian, Tartar, 
and Armenian magnates are received in the highest 
circles of Russian society, and even intermarry with 
the Russian aristocracy, although intermarriage does 
not occur between Christians and Mohammedans. 
But in order to obtain these advantages, a native of 
the Caucasus must conform with Russian ideas and 
become more or less Russified, and almost forget his 
own nationality, not because the Russian is a chau- 
vinist, but because he suspects the loyalty of every 
one who is not a Russian in sentiment if not by race. 


36 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


Consequently, efforts are made to introduce Russian 
as the general language of the Caucasus, and to dis- 
courage non-Russian schools in every way. Nor do 
the Russian officials ever trouble to learn the native 
languages of the provinces they are sent to govern. 
With regard to religion, the Georgian Church has been 
incorporated in that of Russia; the Armenian Church 
has remained independent, but has been placed under 
strict Government tutelage, and the Mussulman re- 
ligion is also controlled by Government's right of 
nominating the higher clergy. 

Yet after a century of Russian rule, with more or 
less strongly accentuated Russifying tendencies, in spite 
of the spread of the Russian tongue and of Russian 
ideas and customs, and the supremacy of Russian 
bureaucratic methods, the Caucasus, or at least Trans- 
caucasia, has certainly not become Russian. The 
Georgians, the Armenians, the Tartars, and many 
of the minor nationalities, civilized or barbarous, 
Christian or Mohammedan, peaceful or warlike, have 
preserved their languages and their racial character- 
istics intact, and in many cases are imbued with 
strong nationalist feelings. There is no hatred of the 
Russians such as there is in Poland, or such as 
there was in Italy against Austria, but there ts a 
grim resolution to preserve language, nationality, and 
religion against all attacks, and at all events among 
the more civilized elements, a determination to put 
an end once and for all to Muscovite autocracy and 
bureaucracy. If the Caucasus is to continue to form 
part of the Russian Empire—and for the present it is 
impossible to see how it can be anything else— it can 
only be governed on a basis of popular autonomy. 


Gacry on THE Buack Sea. Horet anv VILLA oF THe Puince ov OLDENBURG. 


ARDILER Ox THR BLAck Sea Coast. 


face page 37. 


CHAPTER II 
EASTWARD HO! 


HAD left Russia in November, 1904; I recrossed 

the frontier at Alexandrovo in August, 1905. 
When I quitted the country nine months pre- 
viously the war in the Far East was at its height, 
the Russian Government, although shaken and 
weakened in its prestige, still controlled the situation, 
and despotism held almost undisputed sway. But 
Von Plehve was no longer Minister of the Interior, 
and his successor, Prince Svyatopolk-Mirsky took the 
first tentative steps on the path of reform. Yet no 
one suspected that revolution was so near, and that 
Russia was soon to be a prey to anarchy. The next 
few months witnessed many startling changes. In 
the Far East things went from bad to worse; defeat 
followed defeat, the Baltic fleet had ceased to exist, 
and the Manchurian army was weakened by disease 
and demoralized by failure. At home, the various 
progressive groups, from the mildest constitutionalists 
to the reddest revolutionists were growing daily 
bolder and more exacting in their demands; many 
concessions had been extorted from an unwilling 
autocracy, the press enjoyed a certain measure of 

ST 


38 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


freedom, riots and strikes were becoming more and 
more frequent, and from one end of the Empire to 
the other the cry for liberty was increasing in volume 
and insistence. 

One of the most startling aspects of the Russian 
situation at that time was the uprising of the subject 
peoples, and the revival of nationalism in Poland, in 
Finland, in the Caucasus. The policy of the Russi- 
fying steam-roller had failed, and the oppressed nations 
who had been ordered by w#kaz to become Russians, 
whose Churches had been persecuted, whose languages 
had been proscribed, were now taking advantage of 
the weakness of the Government to claim their rights. 

Otherwise the conditions were somewhat quieter, 
and tens of thousands of Russians who had fled the 
country in a panic were now beginning to return. The 
Friedrichstrasse Station at Berlin was crowded with 
Russians, and on the Warsaw train one heard nearly 
as much Russian spoken as German. On reaching 
the frontier the Customs examination was of the most 
cursory nature; the vast piles of luggage were looked 
at by the douanzers as though it were no concern of 
theirs, and we were hurried back to our cars. In the 
restaurant I noticed a typical sign of the times, 
viz., that the attendants professed to understand no 
Russian, and only replied when addressed either in 
Polish, French, or German. A language strike on 
the Warsaw-Vienna railway was then in progress to 
protest against the old ordinance making Russian 
compulsory for all State officials. 

At Warsaw, the first sight to greet my eyes was 
a police cart bearing the body of a murdered 


EASTWARD HO! 38 


gendarme. The assassinations of policemen were 
then matters of daily occurrence to which no one 
paid much attention. The streets were patrolled 
ceaselessly, day and night, and the famous, or in- 
famous, Don Cossacks were most conspicuous. Other- 
wise Warsaw had little that was of interest to offer, 
so after a few days’ stay I continued my eastward 
journey. 

From Warsaw to Odessa is a 26 hours’ run by the 
excellent trains of the South-Western Railway. One 
of my travelling companions is a young landed 
proprietor from the government of Kherson; we 
have hardly exchanged half a dozen words before he 
plunges into politics—a thing which would certainly 
not have occurred at this time last year. He is an 
enthusiastic Liberal, and the new Constitution just 
promulgated by the Tzar he regards as a mere farce. 
‘‘We want something much wider than that, much 
more democratic. We want no ‘German’ Constitution 
which will leave all real power in the hands of the 
Tzar.” But he is also an ardent chauvinist, and 
although he disapproves of the war in the Far East, 
he is convinced that fifty years of liberalism will make 
Russia the first nation in the world. ‘‘We must have 
an exit from the Black Sea; we shall annex Con- 
stantinople and all the Balkan States, and perhaps 
India. If Germany opposes us we shall destroy her.” 

As we travel southwards the heat increases, and the 
single small window admits very little air. At Odessa 
all is quiet, and there are hardly any visible traces 
of the June riots, for all the damage has been quickly 
repaired. Although further disturbances were not 


40 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


generally expected, a foreign resident told me that he 
regarded an outburst of anti-Semitism as inevitable 
at no distant date. The air was full of peace and 
rumours of peace, and the conclusion of the war was 
momentarily awaited. 

In the evening I boarded the steamer Zzesarevich 
Georgzt of the Russian Company, and at 7 p.m. we 
set sail for Batum. The journey is one of the most 
beautiful coasting trips in the world. The steamer is 
a large, comfortable, well-appointed boat with spacious 
cabins, a wide promenade deck, and a first-rate cuisine. 
We are fairly crowded as far as Yalta, for it is the 
height of the season in that smart watering-place. 
At ten the next morning after a smooth crossing we 
reach Sevastopol, where the famous Black Sea fleet 
rides at anchor. The Aznyaz Potemkin is in the inner 
harbour, almost dismantled. No one then imagined 
that a second and more serious mutiny would break 
out so soon, which was to reduce the whole fleet to 
a state of impotence. Many more passengers come 
on board, all of them bound for Yalta, and for the 
next few hours the ship is quite a “congested 
district.” The lovely coast-line is looking its very 
best in the perfect summer weather, and Yalta is 
brilliant. The quays and public gardens are thronged 
with gay crowds of fashionably dressed people, the 
hotels and restaurants are full, smart equipages are 
dashing up and down, and brass bands are playing, 
for all the world as though wars and revolutions were 
forgotten. The charming villas are all occupied, 
and as night falls the whole scene is lit up by the 
blaze of myriads of electric lights, like a city of fairy- 


EASTWARD HO! 41 


land. Yet even Yalta has had its dus/,* not so very 
long ago, when houses and shops were pillaged and 
burnt and several people killed or wounded. But all 
that is long past, and for a few weeks the country 
was enjoying the sense of relief and the hope of 
better times. 

At nine we steam out of the harbour, almost all the 
passengers having landed. We follow the Crimean 
coast through the night, and the next morning spend 
a few hours at Feodosia; then across the bay to 
Novorossiisk, which we reach late at night. The 
weather continues perfect; the sea is as calm as a 
lake, and although the sun is hot, soft breezes waft 
across the deck and keep us cool even in the middle 
of the day. At night we are lulled to sleep by the 
gentle lapping of the water against the vessel's side. 
The few passengers are fairly representative of Cau- 
casian travel. There is a Russian lady of German 
extraction, who speaks several languages excellently, 
has considerable culture and a most agreeable conver- 
sation, and although she has only been out of Russia 
once in her life, she is in touch with the intellectual 
movements of Western Europe ; she proves to be the 
headmistress of a girl’s high school at Tiflis, and is 
altogether a type of the best class of Russian intel- 
lectual. Then there is an Armenian lady, also from 
Tiflis ; she, too, is a very good linguist, and has been 
educated in Germany. She is returning home after 
a short summer outing, but hopes to leave for Europe 
soon, for the terrible times which the Armenians of 
the Caucasus are passing through make her wish to 

* Revolutionary outbreak, 


42 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


get away from the scenes of horror. Her cousin, 
a little boy of twelve, is a characteristic Armenian 
type, and his white sailor suit brings out the dark- 
ness of his complexion. There is a young Russian 
officer just returned from Manchuria, a tall, sad-faced 
man, bearing traces of sickness; he is now on his way 
to Abbas Tuman, where he hopes that the high air 
and the waters will restore his shattered health. 
Some other officers on board (who have not been to 
Manchuria) object to the peace negotiations and are 
all for continuing the war, confident in the inevitable 
triumph of Russian arms. A Danish man of business, 
a Jewish commercial traveller on his way from Odessa 
to Baku, a couple of Orthodox priests, and two or 
three other people make up the list of cabin pas- 
sengers. 

In the third class there is a still more varied mis- 
cellany of types and costumes: Greeks, Turks, 
Armenians, Georgians, Russians, Jews, and almost 
every other race of the Near and Middle East are 
represented. The sailors, too, are of many nation- 
alities, but the language of the ship is Russian ; 
curiously enough one can detect in the maritime 
jargon a number of Italian nautical expressions, such 
as vira, maina, tssa, bandiera, &c.; they are sur- 
vivals of the days when the sea-borne trade of the 
Euxine was wholly in the hands of the Genoese and 
Venetians, when the proud triremes of the Italian sea 
republics made annual voyages to Kaffa (Feodosia) 
and Tana (Azoff), and flourishing Italian settlements 
arose in all the most favoured spots of the coast. 

From Novorossiisk to Batum we are almost always 


EASTWARD HO! 43 


in sight of land, a voyage of some thirty-eight hours, 
broken by many stoppages. It is a marvellous coast, 
grander and more beautiful than that of the Crimea, 
and far wilder. Range upon range of mountains rise 
up from the water’s edge, clothed with rich tropical 
vegetation and magnificent forests. Here and there, 
on clear days, some snowy peak of the western spurs 
of the Caucasus appears among the masses of cloud. 
This coast-land, fenced off from Europe by the giant 
barrier of the Caucasus, is one of the most beautiful 
and fertile regions of the earth’s surface. But for the 
past forty years it has been almost deserted. A 
territory of some 7,350 square kilometres contains 
barely 65,000 inhabitants, of whom 25,000 are in the 
town of Novorossiisk and 8,000 in Sukhum. Before 
1864 the country was populated by several hundred 
thousand Circassians, formerly an independent com- 
munity under a vague Turkish protectorate. They 
were the last people to hold out against the Russians, 
and were famed as a most warlike, vigorous, chival- 
rous, and handsome race. Mohammedans by reli- 
gion, although preserving many pagan practices, they 
fought with desperate valour against the invaders. 
When at last the Russian troops had occupied the 
whole country, the Circassians could not reconcile 
themselves to the new conditions, and emigrated into 
Turkish territory. The story of that emigration isa 
terrible one, for nearly half of the 400,000 Circassians 
died of privation ; those who finally reached Turkey 
became one of the most turbulent elements of the 
population. The efforts of the Russian Government 
to resettle the country have proved almost fruitless, 


44 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


and malaria devastates the whole coast, which is one 
of the unhealthiest regions in the world. Russia 
conquered the country after a series of desperate 
struggles and sacrifices, “but Nature,” in the words 
of a French traveller, ‘‘has got the upper hand over 
the Russians.” Some 30,000 Circassians remained 
behind ; a few thousand Russian peasants and officials 
have been planted in isolated settlements along the 
coast—miserable villages in the midst of nature's 
wealth and beauty—to die of fever. Only a small 
part of the territory is cultivated; a couple of Grand 
Dukes and some wealthy nobles have undertaken 
agricultural experiments with moderate success, the 
great monastic establishment of Novy Afon (New 
Athos) has cultivated a large estate, and at Gagry the 
Prince of Oldenburg has founded a new seaside 
resort, with hotels and gardens. From the steamer 
this place looks very beautiful and attractive, nestling 
amidst splendid forests coming down to the water's 
edge, while a deep, mysterious valley penetrates far 
inland ; but hitherto the venture has not been success- 
ful, for malaria and bad communications keep away 
intending travellers. The great coast road from Novo- 
rossiisk to Sukhum, which has been built at vast 
expense through virgin forests and across a thousand 
torrents, is always in need of repair. The absence 
of bridges makes it impassable for a great part of the 
year, and engineers and workmen die by hundreds 
of fever. The exiled Circassians have indeed been 
revenged by the fever, which keeps watch and ward 
over their ancient homes and deals death to the foreign 
intruder, 


“Tu Lanp or tHe Gotpgn Fuegce.” Tux Mouts or THe Rion, 


a = a as 


‘Mincrauian Carts at Port. 


16 page 45. 


EASTWARD HO! 45 


On the morning of the fourth day we are off the 
coast of the land of Colchis, and the mountains now 
recede some distance from the sea. We soon reach 
Poti, at the mouth of the Rion (the Phasis of the 
ancients), which here forms a marshy estuary. Poti 
was fairly important before the Russian occupation 
of Batum, and the Transcaucasian railway had its 
terminus there. But the harbour was a bad one, and 
the large steamers only touched at Batum, so that 
passengers from the interior had to travel by a small 
steamer from the railway terminus to the Turkish 
port. Since 1878 trade has gradually shifted to 
Batum, which is now in railway connection with Tiflis, 
and Poti, on account of its great unhealthiness, was 
almost abandoned. But within the last few years the 
town has been reviving; it is still a God-forsaken, 
poisonous place, surrounded by mosquito-ridden 
swamps and stinking pools, but owing to the energy 
of the mayor, M. Nikoladze, great harbour works 
have been undertaken, and the marshes are being 
slowly drained. In a few years’ time it will rival 
Batum, and already the improvements have been so 
successful that a great deal of the traffic which left 
Batum on account of the strikes and disorders has 
been transferred to Poti once more. 


CHAPTER III 
BATUM 


ARLY in the afternoon we are in sight of 
Batum, which offers a most beautiful prospect. 
The magnificent bay is surrounded by an amphitheatre 
of hills clad with rich vegetation of the most exquisite 
velvety green. Northwards stretches the marshy 
plain of the Rion, beyond which we may catch a 
glimpse of the Caucasus ; to the south and east are 
the wild Adjar mountains, purple, blue, and pink, 
extending to the Turkish border and beyond, while 
the Anatolian mountains jut out into the sea in 
numerous rocky headlands, hazy and _ indistinct. 
Batum itself is on the flat and built round the 
harbour. Seen from the ship it is a cluster of white 
and brown houses alternated with masses of tropical 
plants. A few ships are in the port, very few, for the 
town has been in an almost continual state of unrest 
ever since March, and trade is almost dead. The 
bay is naturally the finest port on this coast, and 
the great works carried out by the Russians have 
made it a really fine harbour. 
The territory of Batum, together with that of Kars, 
constitutes the last acquisitions made by Russia in the 
46 


Tue “Tzesarevicn Grorct” at Port. 


To face page 47. 


BATUM 47 


Caucasus, having been assigned to her at the Berlin 
Treaty of 1878 as some reward for her victorious, but 
otherwise sterile, campaign. The Russian attack on 
Batum during the war had failed, while the operations 
in European Turkey were successful; at Berlin what 
she had gained in the Balkans was taken from her 
and Batum given to her instead. But it was only 
handed over under certain restrictive conditions ; it 
was to remain a free port outside the Russian Customs 
barrier, and it was not to be fortified. The object of 
these limitations was to safeguard foreign commercial 
interests in the Black Sea, and to ward off the danger 
that Russia should make a formidable naval base on 
the very borders of Turkey. The importance of 
Batum for Russia lay in the fact that it was then 
the only good harbour in Transcaucasia. 

The conditions imposed by the Powers were of an 
unnatural kind, and such as could not bear the strain 
of circumstances. It was unnatural that Russia should 
not want to fortify such an important frontier position 
as Batum, and it was not in the least likely that either 
Turkey or the other Powers would go to war with her 
for doing so. Consequently, in the early ‘eighties 
Russia beyan to erect forts in the neighbourhood 
of the town, but outside the free port zone. Then 
other forts were built, but not armed, even within 
that zone. Finally, just as the Government had de- 
clared in 1870 that it no longer held itself bound 
by the provision of the Treaty of Paris forbidding 
it to have a war fleet in the Black Sea, so now it 
issued a note to the Powers in defiance of the 
Berlin Treaty, stating that Batum would be fortified, 


48 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


and that as a fortress it could not continue to be a 
free port. The inner forts were thereupon armed, 
and the town became a stronghold of the first rank, 
which would serve as a base of operations in case 
of war in the Black Sea. 

My first impression on landing at Batum was that 
I was really in Turkey, not in Russia. There are 
Russian buildings no doubt, Russian inscriptions, 
Russian uniforms. There is the dirt and the untidiness 
and the unfinished appearance of things, which is a 
characteristic common both to Russia and Turkey. 
But there is something more than all this; the 
feeling in the air is Turkish, the strange collection 
of swarthy Oriental faces, the picturesque rags, and 
the scarlet fezzes recall the harbours of the Turkish 
Levant. Russian disorder consists in not finishing 
things, and in neglecting essentials while devoting 
attention to externals ; Turkish disorder does not 
even begin things, and neglects externals quite as 
much as essentials. The noise and confusion of the 
crowd of porters, all picturesque and all villainous- 
looking, are also thoroughly Turkish, for in Russia 
proper they manage these things better, and pas- 
sengers are landed from trains or steamers more 
comfortably and with less fuss. The cab which con- 
veys me to the hotel is Russian, for it is far less 
dilapidated than a Turkish vehicle would be, and it 
has the supreme glory of rubber tires. The rubber 
tire is a form of civilization which has penetrated 
deep into the Caucasus. In the remotest towns of 
Transcaucasia, where clean hotels, insectless beds, 
decent food, schools, roads, security, and every 


BATUM 49 


other necessity or luxury of modern life are lacking, 
the rubber tire flourishes. My hotel plunges me 
again into Turkey. The French-speaking inter- 
preter of doubtful antecedents, the gaily-coloured 
Oriental rugs, the bedsteads of painted iron, and the 
broken-down furniture might have belonged to a 
hostelry at Uskiib or Salonika. 

The great feature of Batum is the boulevard. 
Every Russian town of any size has some sort of 
public garden or park, called the boulevard, or 
the Alexandrovsky Sad (Alexander Garden), or the 
Gorodskoy Sad (Town Garden), where the band plays 
and people walk up and down. Most of these 
places of recreation in provincial cities are dreary, ill- 
kept, unattractive enclosures, with untidy flowerless 
beds and consumptive-looking trees. But at Batum 
the boulevard is a thing of beauty and wonderment. 
It is a broad avenue flanked by acacias, palms, 
cactus, bananas, and other tropical plants, as well 
as trees of the temperate zone, and one enjoys 
from it a fine view of the waters of the Euxine, 
deep-hued as indigo, cut by ranges of fairy head- 
lands and promontories. The gorgeous colouring, 
rich green, deep blue, and glowing purple, the 
steamy, oppressive air compose a thoroughly Eastern 
atmosphere. Beyond the avenue the boulevard ex- 
pands into a more elaborate garden, with rare trees, 
strange tropical flowers, and masses of heathery, 
waving grasses. At the end isa little lake cut off 
from the open sea by a narrow strip of land. At 
sunset its waters are of the most exquisite shimmering 
gold and rose red, over which thickly-leaved trees 

4 


ne 


50 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


bend down, casting deep shadows on the metallic 
surface which they seem to kiss; reeds of every 
form and colour rise up to meet them; tall, slender 
palm-trees stand out black against the sky-line in 
the background, and along the dividing strip of sand 
figures of mounted Cossacks are seen riding in single 
file to water their horses. The whole spectacle re- 
calls pictures of India or of Egypt, no less brilliant 
in hue, no less intense in atmosphere. The air is 
heavy and reeking with damp. Everything is wet 
and clammy to the touch; steamy vapours exude 
from plants and pools, and one feels weary, exhausted, 
and lacking in energy. There ride the Cossacks, 
symbols of Russian power, while its deadliest enemy 
in the Caucasus is buzzing over the water—the 
fever-breeding mosquito. 

The Russian Government has done much to 
improve the climate of Batum, to drain the marshes, 
to make the town healthy. Health stations have 
been established at Zeliony Muis and other spots 
above the marsh zone, and quinine has been imported 
by the ton, but Batum is still feverish, and all the 
inhabitants are sooner or later affected by the poison. 
By the port one breathes in all the foul smells of the 
East, and open sewers pursue their slimy course from 
the houses to the sea. 

Before the Russian occupation Batum was a 
wretched village, inhabited chiefly by Turks, with an 
admixture of Greeks and other Levantines. Now it 
is a town of 30,000 souls, still more mixed as to race 
and religion. Some 10,000 Turks have remained 
behind, the greater part of whom are subjects of the 


BATUM 51 


Sultan ; there are some 10,000 Georgians—Gurians, 
Mingrelians, Imeretins, Mohammedan Adjars; 7,000 
Russians (chiefly soldiers and officials), and 3,000 to 
5,000 Persians, Greeks, Armenians, Tartars, &c. But 
a large part of the population is fluctuating. Gurian 
peasants come into town when there is a demand for 
labour and obtain employment in various industries, 
which they abandon and return to their fields in the 
harvest season, or when work is slack. Few towns 
present such a collection of different specimens of 
humanity, from the swarthy Persian to the blond 
Russian. [In all seaports of the Levant the ruffianly 
element is conspicuous, but Batum almost takes the 
palm for rascality of all descriptions. Murders, 
robbery, incendiarism have always been common occur- 
rences here ; the most extraordinary stories are told 
of crimes committed even by persons of the upper 
classes, and not a square mile of the country round is 
really free from brigandage. To maintain order among 
such people is no easy task, but Russia has certainly 
failed in it signally. In Turkish times the disorders 
were due to an insufficiency of troops and police, and 
the inefficiency of the administration; but now the 
number of troops is large, for Batum is a first-class 
fortress with batteries in the middle of the town, the 
police is numerous and well armed, the administration, 
if corrupt and incapable, is certainly an improvement 
on that of Turkey; yet public order has been going 
steadily from bad to worse, until the recent political 
disturbances reduced the town and district to a state 
of absolute chaos—an expression to which I shall 
have to resort frequently. 


52 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


The prosperity of Batum is based on its position 
as an emporium for the export trade from the 
Caucasus, and on its industries. The latter are an 
offshoot of the Baku oil trade, and consist in a 
number of large case oil works. The oil is transported 
from Baku by rail or by means of a pipe line; and 
at Batum it is either shipped on to tank steamers 
or put into cases for export. The manufacture of 
these cases is a very elaborate undertaking, and 
constitutes an important trade. The largest works 
are those of Messrs. Rothschild, who, as owners of 
large oil-fields at Baku, are of course greatly 
interested in the export business. Their factory, 
situated outside Batum, employed several thousand 
men. 

The workmen, as I said before, were mostly 
Gurians, from the district of Ozurgety, and also 
other groups of Georgians. Of late years the Social 
Democratic party has been pursuing its propaganda 
most actively and made many converts among the 
Batum working classes. Since the general state of 
unrest in Russia spread to the Caucasus, Batum has 
been a perfect hotbed of revolt. Early in the spring 
of 1905 the workmen of the port and of the factories 
went out on strike, demanding higher wages and 
shorter hours. But as a matter of fact, the wages 
in the case oil works are exceptionally high, the men 
earning as much as from two to three roubles a day, 
which is higher than the salary of any other class of 
workmen in Russia. Messrs. Rothschild’s manager 
said to me, in connection with this question: ‘ Le 
caractére de cette gréve c'est qu'elle n’en est pas une.” 


BATUM 53 


Like the first St. Petersburg strikes it was purely a 
manifestation of the general state of unrest of the 
country, and the demands of the strikers had political 
aspirations in the background. But unlike the strikers 
in St. Petersburg, those of Batum at once proceeded 
to violent measures, and from that day to this the 
town has not had a moment’s real quiet. When 
I arrived things were peaceable enough in appear- 
ance ; although the state of siege was in force there 
were no patrols, and hardly any policemen. Yet 
not a day passed without murders being committed 
in the streets, and no murderer was ever arrested. 
A terrorist committee existed, not ascribed to any 
definite party, but more or less connected both with 
the Socialists and the Social Revolutionists, recruited 
from the dregs of the people, which enforced its rule 
by means of assassination. In one of the suburbs of 
Batum, where a number of the most disorderly 
elements live, there was a man described as the 
real Governor of Batum, as distinguished from the 
official Russian Governor: his authority seemed to 
be considerable, and his word was obeyed as law. 
The methods by which the terrorists act are ex- 
tremely simple. Orders will suddenly be issued that 
the workmen of such and such a factory must strike ; 
the men obey without a murmur, and any manager 
or employee who attempts to stop the movement is 
assassinated. In some cases rufhans went on board 
steamers in the port and ordered the dock labourers 
to cease work at 3 p.m., and although the ruffians 
in question were absolutely unauthorized no one 
dared disobey them. In the town itself the terror 


te eee) 


54 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


was so great that the least sound or appearance of 
disturbance caused an immediate panic. 

One afternoon I was taken to see the Rothschild 
case oil works outside Batum. We went by petro- 
leum launch across the bay, that way being safer 
than the carriage road. The works had been lying 
idle for months, and there was no prospect of their 
being started again in the near future. All the latest 
machinery and the most perfect plant had been set 
up, but was silent and useless. A guard of Cossacks 
was encamped in the enclosure, but even this was 
not considered sufficient protection, and a private 
guard had been organized and armed by the firm— 
with the full permission of the Russian Government. 
This concession, the manager informed me, was in itself 
a proof of the utter impotence of the bureaucracy, for 
unless they had felt their authority to have completely 
gone they would never have granted what even the 
French Government refused when, at the time of the 
Anarchist outrages in Paris, Baron Rothschild’s life 
had been threatened, and he wished to form a private 
bodyguard for his own protection. Tall natives, 
mostly Adjar Mohammedans, armed with revolvers 
and &zjaés (Caucasian knives) were standing about 
at all the entrances, and a group of Cossacks in very 
untidy a@éshkabille were squatting on the ground 
playing cards outside the stable where their horses 
were quartered. Here and there a few workmen were 
seen looking after the machinery and the stores. 
But in spite of all these precautions no less than 
eighteen employees of the firm had been assassinated 
during the last few months, and the lives of all the 


“SNLOML UO BSVD SANVANOD OMIGVUL, NV VHLNAVN, NVLUSVD GXV VES XOVIG FHL LV GUVND NO SNDVSSOQ “NAIVE 


BATUM 55 


others had been threatened and often attempted. 
The ex-workmen either did not wish to return to 
work or did not dare, for the terrorist committee 
would not have hesitated to burn or blow up the 
establishment with dynamite. 

It is not easy to understand what the object of the 
revolutionary parties is, unless it be that of making 
the government of the country impossible ‘until re- 
forms are granted. But while the leaders, especially 
in the great towns of Russia proper, may have more 
or less precise ideas on the subject, the masses 
understand nothing save the fear of the terrorists, 
and the possibility of plunder. All discipline has 
become relaxed, all authority is flouted. The Govern- 
ment did absolutely nothing save occasionally ex- 
asperate the people by some act of monstrous 
stupidity or bad faith. It seemed incredible that in 
a town fortified like Batum, surrounded by batteries 
bristling with guns, and garrisoned by large bodies of 
troops, murder and outrage should be so easy. No 
attempt was made to arrest the guilty, and in fact the 
word seemed to have been passed that the revolu- 
tionists should be left alone. 

A curious instance of the Government's attitude is 
afforded by the story of the vicissitudes of the local 
paper (the Zchernomorsky Viesintk). This organ, 
under the editorship of a certain M. Palm, had been 
thoroughly reactionary ; but when the troubles broke 
out the revolutionists got control of it, obliged the 
editor to fly for his life, and supplied a staff of their 
own. Since then it has advocated ultra-Radical, not 
to say terrorist, views. 


56 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


Last year a largely attended Socialist Congress was 
held in the town, with the express permission of 
Genera] Orbeliani, the military Governor-General, 
who assured the chairman that he would not be 
held responsible for any but his own actions and 
utterances. But as speeches against the Government 
were delivered—it was hardly to be expected that 
such a meeting should have been summoned for the 
purpose of blessing the autocracy and the bureaucracy 
—the said chairman was promptly arrested and kept 
in prison for several months. On being set at liberty 
he was appointed veterinary surgeon to the Tiflis 
municipal slaughter-house. In the meanwhile the 
really dangerous anarchists were undisturbed. 

But behind all this movement of anarchy and 
terrorism there were the Georgian Nationalists of 
various shades, largely backed up by the aristocracy. 
The treatment of this class at the hands of the 
Russian Government has not strengthened their 
loyalty, and they have seized the opportunity of the 
general unrest to press forward their claims in favour 
of Georgian nationalism. They make use of the 
terrorists, secretly support them, and even supply 
funds for the work of agitation and strikes. These 
nobles are often outwardly on good terms with the 
Russian officials, and meet them as comrades and 
friends. The Vice-Governor said to one of the 
foreign consuls, while discussing some recent out- 


rages: “If we could only arrest the few really 
important leaders, all the trouble would be at an end; 
but we have no notion where to find them.” ‘ You 


must seek them,” the consul replied, “in the club, 


BATUM 57 


among your companions at cards, or among your 
guests at your own dinner-table.” The only show 
of activity on the part of the authorities was made 
on the day before the Peace of Portsmouth was 
officially proclaimed, when its conclusion was already 
a certainty; the local military commandant gave 
orders that the forts should be put in a state of 
defence with a view to the possibility of a Japanese 
naval attack ! 

A further element of uncertainty is provided by the 
Turks and Mohammedan Adjars. The latter are of 
Georgian race, but like the Pomaks and other 
converts to Islam, they are particularly fanatical, 
and hate the Christian Georgians very bitterly. 
They took no part in the strikes, for, like the Tartars, 
they were anxious to be on good terms with the 
powers that be, but awaited the opportunity of 
pouring into Batum, and, with the help of the local 
Mohammedans, of indulging in a general massacre 
of Christians. The Adjars are fairly well armed, for 
many of them have been formed into a sort of 
irregular local militia or frontier police. It is said 
that the Government has been trying to egg them 
on against the Gurians and other Christians, just as 
it encouraged the Tartars against the Armenians in 
the eastern provinces, but hitherto no general 
Christian-Mohammedan outbreak has _ occurred. 
The Adjars offered to undertake all the work of 
the case oil industries and of the docks, but the 
authorities hesitated before assenting to a measure 
which would certainly have converted Batum into 
a shambles. There are many foreign interests in 


58 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


the town, and the Government was anxious to avoid 
the international complications which would certainly 
ensue. 

At Batum I had my first interview with a Caucasian 
revolutionist in his own land. This was a certain 
Dr. V., who, although not a Georgian by birth, was 
thoroughly identified with the Georgian Nationalist 
movement; he was opposed to the Social Demo- 
crats, who disregarded the national aspirations of 
the Georgians. Besides being a doctor he was a 
prominent member of the town council, and the 
right-hand man of Prince Andronikoff, the mayor. 
Being anxious to have a talk with him, I obtained 
an introduction through a friend. Not that an intro- 
duction was necessary, for every one in the Caucasus 
is only too ready to welcome a foreigner, especially 
if he is a journalist or writer, for each person wishes 
to make his own views known to the European 
public ; but I was new to the country at the time, 
and thought that without introductions I should be 
regarded with suspicion. Dr. V. is a short, keen- 
eyed, middle-aged man, very nervous, but intelligent 
and enthusiastic. As he spoke no German or French, 
and as my Russian was very rusty, he produced an 
interpreter, a dark-skinned, dark-eyed Italian-Greek- 
Levantine-Turk, a ship-chandler by trade. He is 
(or was at that time) a Turkish subject, but called 
himself an Italian, and spoke the very oddest Italian 
I have ever heard. He was dressed with a sort of 
Levantine sham smartness, had _ well-oiled black 
hair and moustache, a flaming tie, and a diminutive 
silver-tipped walking-stick. Dr. V. and the inter- 


MoHAMMEDAN AT PRAYER. 


Cuaxva, wear Batum. Davinc Tea Luavas on tHe Inrantat Estate, 
To face page 59. 


BATUM | 59 


preter called on me at the hotel, and on my asking 
a few questions as to the revolutionary movement 
and aspirations, the doctor burst forth into a torrent 
of eloquence in which he set forth the history of 
Georgia from the earliest times, with a wealth of 
ethnological, geographical, and philosophical digres- 
sions. It was a considerable time before he reached 
even the Russian conquest, and doubtless if he could 
have stayed all night he might have come down to 
the present situation. But he had barely time to 
sketch it out in a few words without going into details, 
for he had another engagement. It was my first 
experience of that love of abstractions and theories 
which is so common in the Caucasus, and that habit 
of always going back to the dim origins of things 
before coming to the point. I cannot pretend that 
I was much illumined by my interview, for Dr. V. 
talked so fast and for so long without stopping that 
by the time he paused the poor interpreter could not 
remember a quarter of the discourse, and what he 
did remember his Italian was too uncertain to enable 
him to translate. In fact I understood or guessed 
more from Dr. V.’s Russian and from his gestures 
than from the worthy ship-chandler's Italian. How- 
ever, it gave me an insight into the Georgian mind, 
and the scraps of information I gathered helped to 
supplement others I was to get in the course of 
my travels. 

I spent my days at Batum pleasantly enough 
visiting the town and its beautiful surroundings, not 
omitting the Imperial estate of Chakva, where there 
is a large tea plantation under the management of a 


ne 


60 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


Chinaman. Every morning I had a delicious bath 
in the warm sea, from a very primitive bathing es- 
tablishment. In the evening the military band played 
on the boulevard, and in spite of murders and the 
general feeling of unrest, and the uneasy suspicion 
that a bomb might burst at any moment, the people 
walked up and down listening to the strains of 
“Carmen” and “Il Trovatore.” They were a 
motley crowd of Georgians in the long ¢cherkesska* 
(a sort of frock-coat, tight at the waist, adorned with 
cartridge pockets) and dask/yk (a hood-turban), dark 
Persians in tall, black fezzes, blue-coated gendarmes, 
wild-looking Cossacks, handsome Adjars in tight- 
fitting costumes of an indigo hue, with a sprinkling of 
men and women in European attire, Russians or 
foreigners. All these divers elements were outwardly 
on friendly terms with each other, and quite ready to 
chat peaceably to-day—and to cut each other's 
throats to-morrow. 


* The word is a Russian one, and means Circassian ; although 
the costume was originally that of the real Circassians, it is now 
commonly adopted by many other Caucasian peoples. 


CHAPTER IV 
KUTAIS AND THE GEORGIAN MOVEMENT 


HE line from Batum to Kutais follows the sea- 

coast for a few miles, and then turns inland 
into the rich alluvial plains of Mingrelia—a soil burst- 
ing with fertility but cursed by the everlasting malaria. 
Transcaucasian railways leave much to be desired as 
regards comfort, speed, and cleanliness, but the 
curious sights along the line more than make up for 
other drawbacks. At every station is the usual 
variegated crowd of picturesque natives, with their 
many racial types, and the usual confusion of goods 
and untidy parcels on the platforms. Small boys and 
girls come to the carriage windows to sell fruit, of 
which there is a marvellous abundance. For five 
kopecks (1}d.) you can get a large basket of figs or 
a huge bunch of grapes; but alas! the Caucasus 
deserves its fame as the land of unripe fruit and the 
luscious-looking products of the soil prove to be hard, 
sour, and indigestible. Why the peasants do not wait 
a little longer and pick them only when really ripe, I 


cannot conceive. At Samtredy, there is a branch line 
61 


62 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


to Poti, the original terminus of the Transcaucasian 
railway before the Russian occupation of Batum. 
This station is celebrated as being one of the chief 
resorts of thieves and cut-throats in the Caucasus; 
you cannot leave your compartment unwatched while 
having lunch, and it is necessary to summon a 
nosstlshtchtk (porter) to look after it. Most Russian 
railway stations are infested with thieves, and it is 
always advisable to have your carriage locked by 
the guard when leaving it for more than a few 
minutes; but in the Caucasus, as in some large 
Russian stations, this is not enough, for the thieves 
are provided with keys, so that personal supervision is 
necessary. A peculiarity of the Transcaucasian lines 
is the enormous number of ticketless passengers. 
As soon as a train starts numbers of well-armed 
barbarians rush into the carriages, cling on to the 
platforms—they often jump in when the train is 
already moving at its mad career of twelve or thirteen 
miles an hour. The guard comes round for tickets 
and difficulties arise ; this sort of Ollendorfian con- 
versation ensues: “‘ Have you a ticket?” ‘No, but 
I have a large revolver and a large knife, and my 
brother has a large revolver and large knife, and so 
have my cousins and my friends.” The guard takes 
in the situation at a glance and passes by on the other 
side. It has been calculated that some 30 per cent. 
of the passengers on the Caucasian lines were innocent 
of tickets. I need hardly add that the line does not 
pay, but as it is guaranteed by the State and gets 
a subvention, the shareholders receive dividends, so 


that everybody is happy. 


Kutats. Grorcian Tyres. 


sce page 62. 


KUTAIS AND THE GEORGIAN MOVEMENT 68 


A four hours’ run brought me to Kutais, which is 
on a short branch line from Rion Junction on the 
Batum-Baku line to the important coal mines of 
Tkvibuli. Kutais is a quaint, attractive old town built 
on both banks of the Rion river and dominated by 
a steep, wooded hill, on the summit of which are the 
ruins of a castle and of a large church. The streets 
are irregular and unpaved, so that in dry weather they 
are buried in clouds of dust, and when it rains the 
mud is several inches deep and expands at frequent 
intervals into large lakes. The houses are of a curious 
Oriental style, not like those of Turkey, but with 
marked peculiarities of their own. They have large 
wooden balconies and projecting eaves, and their 
dominant feature is the glass-covered veranda, on to 
which many of the rooms look. It is a most incon- 
venient arrangement from the point of view of 
comfort, especially in hot weather, when it effectually 
excludes fresh air. In the hotel, which is otherwise 
quite decent, nearly all the rooms have both window 
and door opening on to the veranda, so that there is 
no means of ventilation, and the atmosphere is 
indescribable. From the bridge over the Rion one 
enjoys a charming view, both up and down stream, of 
the quaint old houses overhanging the banks of the 
surging torrent, and the masses of trees and luxuriant 
vegetation add a charm of freshness. 

The population of Kutais numbers some 30,000 
souls, nearly all of them of the Georgian race 
—Khartvels, Mingrelians, Imeretins, Svanets, and 
other varieties—and there are small settlements of 
Russians, Armenians, Mohammedans, and Jews. It 


64 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


is the capital of a government with a population 
of over a million. The town is the centre of the 
Georgian movement, and may be regarded in a 
sense as the capital of Georgia, for now that Tiflis is 
becoming more and more Armenian the Georgians 
are shifting westward, and Kutais is the largest purely 
Georgian town. A walk through the bazars offers a 
sight of many picturesque types; handsome, dignified 
men attired in the usual ¢écherkesska, tall Astrakhan 
cap, gaily-coloured tunic, trousers tucked into high 
heel-less boots, and long knives attached to the 
leather belt. Nominally, no one is supposed to carry 
arms, but as a matter of fact nearly every Georgian 
does. The women are less picturesque than the men ; 
the most striking detail of their costume is the little 
flat embroidered cap, whence a long, white veil hangs 
down ; artificial curls are usually attached to it. The 
members of the aristocracy generally wear the native 
costume, but of course richer and more splendid than 
that worn by the peasants. A white ¢cherkesska, 
adorned with gold braid, is particularly becoming. I 
remember one old Georgian, who had served in the 
Russian army and had been wounded in the last 
Turkish war; his ¢écherkesska was of a rich reddish 
brown, his breast was covered with decorations, and 
he wore a beautifully chased £zmza/ and an elaborate 
revolver. Another Georgian prince I met—there are 
princes by the hundred in Kutais—indulged in a most 
peculiar head-dress ; when I first saw him I thought he 
was wearing a particularly large lamb’s-wool papakh 
(native cap), but on closer inspection it proved to be 
his own very ample and curly hair! He was a fairly 


Kerals. Houses axp Garbexs ox tHE Rion. 


|P 


Koras Prnutive Native Carts with Soin Wumets. 


Te face page 6+ 


KUTAIS AND THE GEORGIAN MOVEMENT 65 


well-educated man, and had travelled even as far as 
London a few years before. That huge head of 
hair in Piccadilly is a thing imagination boggles at. 

Kutais has few of the resources of civilization. 
There is, as I have said, a fair hotel kept by an old 
Swiss lady and her daughter, the boulevard (a square 
garden in the middle of the town with large trees and 
no flowers), a theatre where performances are given in 
Russian and Georgian, and a few unambitious shops. 
It has been left out of the march of progress, and is 
materially far behind most Russian towns, and even 
many Caucasian towns such as Tiflis, Baku, Batum, or 
Vladikavkaz. But the scenery of the neighbourhood 
is very beautiful and mountainous, and there are some 
interesting old buildings to be visited. On the hill 
above the town are the ruins of what must have been 
a really fine church of red sandstone. It is an oblong 
in form with rounded apse and transepts, and narrow, 
round-arched windows somewhat suggestive of Norman 
architecture. In fact the Georgian style, like the 
Armenian, to which it is closely allied, is an outcome 
of the Byzantine, and there is little doubt that Greek 
architects or natives educated at Constantinople built 
many of the churches. Even Russian architecture 
is derived from the Byzantine, but it has greatly 
exaggerated all the features of its models and made 
them awkward and ridiculous, whereas the Georgian- 
Armenian churches, if without the wealth and splen- 
dour of those of Constantinople, preserved a genuine 
purity of design which appears even in comparatively 
modern buildings. Another more interesting church is 
the monastery of Ghelati, about two hours’ ride from 

5 


\ 


66 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


Kutais. There is 4 broad, grass-covered enclosure, 
surrounded by a stone wall, on the side of a hill over 
the valley of the Tzkhal-Tzitheli, embracing a splendid 
panorama of forest-clad heights and rocky peaks, with 
fresh, green valleys and plains extending in every 
direction. The cathedral of St. Mary, in the middle 
of the enclosure, is an imposing structure built of 
colossal blocks of red sandstone. The exterior is a 
rectangle, but the roof indicates the cruciform plan. 
At the crossing of the nave and the transept is a 
polygonal drum supporting a conical dome. Several 
projections and additions have been built round it, 
such as three porches, which somewhat obscure the 
general shape of the edifice. The interior is im- 
pressive, for its unusual proportions, combining great 
height with a comparatively small area, produce an 
effect of vast size and dim distances. There are 
frescoes and mosaics of no great artistic merit on the 
walls, but decorative and attractive ; some are said to 
be the work of Genoese artists in the Renaissance, for 
that nation had intimate connection with the land of 
Colchis. Besides the cathedral there is a little chapel 
containing the tomb of David, King of Georgia (1089- 
1125), and the iron gates of the Persian city of Ghanja 
(the modern Elizavetpol) captured by him. To-day 
both the tomb of the conqueror and the city he cap- 
tured are under the rule of the same alien people. 
The monks have the reputation of being somewhat 
inhospitable and disinclined to show strangers the 
treasures of the church. But my experience was 
different. After I had been taken round all the 
sights by a courteous monk and was waiting until the 


KUTAIS AND THE GEORGIAN MOVEMENT 67 


heavy storm, which had broken after months of heat 
and drought, should cease, the zgumen, or abbot, 
sent to fetch me, and received me in a most friendly 
manner in his own apartment. He was a handsome, 
grey-bearded old man, and spoke Russian slowly so 
that I should understand, and once when he thought 
I had not grasped his meaning he translated his 
remarks into ancient Greek! He asked me if in my 
country there was freedom of speech and of conscience, 
and on my replying in the affirmative, he sighed and 
said, ‘Alas! here we are slaves of a tyrannical 
Government ; but better times are coming, and we 
too shall soon have a revolution.” 

When the rain stopped my guide and I remounted 
our horses and turned homewards. The former was 
an immensely fat Mingrelian; like all Caucasians he 
knew how to ride, but his vast proportions made it 
impossible for him to mount on to the high native 
saddle without a step or a heap of stones. Once he 
was mounted he would start off at a gallop down the 
most impossible tracks and through deep pools of 
mud. For some reason or other he did not wear the 
picturesque native dress, but rigged himself out in a 
very rusty, ill-fitting black suit, pointed yellow boots, a 
stiff shirt and collar of bright pink, a black tie and 
a cycling cap; a more incongruous figure could hardly 
be conceived. This was my first experience of a 
Caucasian saddle, and I shall not easily forget it. It 
consists of a large leather cushion placed on the 
wooden framework, and attached to it by means of 
the belt which keeps the whole affair on the horse’s 
back. Thestirrups are so placed that you cannot lean 


68 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


back but are obliged to sit perfectly straight, and as 
they are very short your legs are crumpled up at an 
angle of thirty degrees. Bridle and saddle are in the 
most dilapidated condition, and kept together with 
bits of string ; there are quantities of little straps and 
buckles and other oddments for which I could find no 
conceivable use. The horses themselves are wiry 
little mountain ponies, with a distant touch of the 
Arab in them, and if you are fortunate you may get 
one which really has some go; but as a rule hired 
animals are most unsatisfactory, and any one intending 
to ride a great deal should buy his steeds, for they are 
very cheap. 

There are many cultivated and intelligent men 
among the Georgians, and indeed the government of 
Kutais has one of the lowest percentages of illiteracy 
in the Empire. The Georgians are an essentially 
literary people, and most members of the upper class 
write in the newspapers and reviews. Georgian papers 
are published at Tiflis only, and hitherto permission to 
issue a Georgian paper at Kutais has always been 
refused by the Russian authorities. There are quite a 
number of Georgian poets of distinction both ancient 
and modern, of whom the best known are Rustaveli 
among the older ones (the author of ‘‘ The Man in the 
Leopard’s Skin’’), and Prince Ilya Chavchavadze 
among the moderns ; there is also a Georgian national 
drama, and a host of translators from foreign languages, 
novelists, and journalists. Literary activity has 
gone hand in hand with the political movement, and 
the chief writers are also the leaders of Georgian 
Nationalism. One finds Prince Chavchavadze’s portrait 


susaiig NVIDNOTD Y 


CMVLAY AVEN LVTEHD 40 AMEUSVNOTY 


KUTAIS AND THE GEORGIAN MOVEMENT 69 


_ in many a country inn and peasant cottage, as well as 
in the houses of the better class. The Georgian 
theatre is quite a flourishing institution, and some 
of the actors are excellent, although the majority of 
the plays are translations. 

This love of literature is common to many races 
who, although civilized, have been denied political 
freedom, and books are the only outlet for exuberant 
and cultivated intellects. But if literature has kept 
alive national sentiment, it has in the case of the 
Georgians militated against a development of a 
practical spirit like that of the Armenians. Con- 
sequently, in spite of their cleverness, the Georgians 
are a weaker element than their capabilities would 
lead us to believe, and they are everywhere giving 
way before the more “ pushful ” Armenian. 

The Georgian is sympathetic, handsome, very 
friendly and _ hospitable, well-mannered, but un- 
practical, happy-go-lucky and extravagant. Few of 
the Georgian nobles have remained even moderately 
wealthy ; there are immense numbers of impoverished 
‘princes ” all over the Caucasus, although they have 
not lost their pride with their wealth. At the same 
time they have given proof of a devoted attach- 
ment to ideals and a readiness to undergo great 
sacrifices for the sake of their nationality and freedom 
which are wholly admirable. 

I had occasion to visit some Georgian interiors at 
Kutais, and in all I found a warm welcome and 
friendly hospitality. A Georgian home, even of the 
better class, is a simple establishment, and the people’s 
way of life primitive and unostentatious. The chief 


70 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


furniture consists of broad, hard. sofas called ¢akstas 
covered with handsome Oriental carpets, other rugs 
hung up on the walls, and a few chairs and tables of 
Russian and German make. All the men of the upper 
class speak Russian as well as Georgian, although 
it is not always the case with the women. Some 
speak French and German too, and a few even 
English. 

The fascinations of the Georgians have attracted 
many foreigners to visit the land and study the 
people, and the latest addition to the little band of 
Georgian scholars is an enterprising English lady 
whose acquaintance I made while at Kutais, An 
excellent linguist, she determined to add Georgian 
to her many other tongues, and indeed proposed to 
learn Armenian and Tartar as well, so as to be able 
to study the Caucasus de fond en comble. Undeterred 
by weak health and the discomforts which life in the 
Caucasus entails, she made up her mind to settle 
down in Georgia for many months, giving English, 
French, and German lessons in exchange for instruc- 
tion in Georgian. Already in a couple of months she 
had made one hundred and twenty-five acquaintances, 
and by this time no doubt she knows half the Georgian 
people. 

The political situation at Kutais, and the aspirations 
of the Georgians were reaching an acute stage at the 
time of my visit. I described in a previous Chapter 
how the Russian Government, in spite of its treaties 
and formal promises, destroyed every vestige of 
Georgian autonomy, and treated Georgia as an 
integral part of Russia; it did everything in its 


KUTAIS AND THE GEORGIAN MOVEMENT 71 


power to Russify the inhabitants by means of Rus- 
sian officials, Russian schools, and Russian bureau- 
cratic methods. But nevertheless the old patriotic 
feelings were by no means dead, and the greater 
proportion of Georgians remained attached to their 
language and nationality. At Tiflis the process of 
Russification was more successful, and many Geor- 
gians of the upper classes took to speaking Russian 
even among themselves. But at Kutais, and of 
course in the remote districts, the native tongue 
continued to hold its own, in spite of the fact that 
the Russian officials make a point of never learning 
the vernacular tongues of the provinces they are 
sent to govern, thus obliging the natives to learn 
Russian. During the reigns of Alexander III. and 
Nicholas II., especially while Prince Golytzin was 
Governor-General of the Caucasus, the policy of 
the Government was one of extreme reaction and 
Russification; the Georgians, having no longer an 
independent Church, were deprived of one focus 
of national life and activity. Prince Golytzin’s espe- 
cial bugbear was the Armenians and the Armenian 
Church, but even the Georgians found little favour 
in his eyes, and every attempt was made to pro- 
scribe the Georgian language. Any movement that 
savoured of nationalism was sternly repressed, and 
the Georgian zntel/igentza, consisting of nobles and 
literary and professional men, were objects of pro- 
found distrust. In spite of this policy the move- 
ment continued to progress in an underhand way, and, 
although there was no possibility of organization, the 
leaders of Georgian public opinion secretly hoped for 


72 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


the time when their old supremacy would be restored. 
Their aspirations were vague and their discontent 
latent, but the national sentiment was very real. 
When the war in the Far East broke out, and 
Russian disasters followed one another in quick 
succession, the Georgians, like all the other subject 
races of the Empire, as well as the Russian Liberals, 
began to advance their demands for freedom and 
autonomy more openly than they had ever dared to 
do before, several recognized parties came to be 
formed, and there was a great and unexpected 
revival of the Georgian idea. Talk of autonomy, 
freedom, nationality, self-government, was on every- 
body’s lips. But by the side of the national 
movement, another very active agitation made its 
appearance—that of the Social Democrats. The 
conditions of the peasantry in Georgia had long 
been very unsatisfactory. The nobles, hospitable, 
extravagant, and unpractical, like Irish landlords, 
had squandered away their fortunes, and could only 
exist by squeezing their dependents. The land is held 
on the méfatrie plan, which, as in Tuscany, where it 
is worked equitably, results in better relations be- 
tween landlord and peasant than any other, but where 
it is abused leads to the most bitter hatred; the 
peasant has always the feeling of being part pro- 
prietor of the land, so that any act of injustice 
committed by the landlord has far more the aspect 
of robbery than where the peasant is merely the hired 
labourer or the tenant farmer. In many parts of 
the country there are also peasant proprietors, but 
as a rule they have not enough land to keep them, 


KUTAIS AND THE GEORGIAN MOVEMENT 73 


as the methods of agriculture are extremely primitive. 
Moreover, within the last few years a certain amount 
of industry has been developed in the Western 
Caucasus. The manganese mines of Chiatury, the 
coal-pits of Tkvibuly, the large case oil works of 
Batum, the harbours of that town and of Poti, and 
of course the railways, gave occupation to numbers 
of Georgians. There was not a permanent industrial 
working class, but, as was the case in Russia until 
quite recent times, the peasants of certain districts 
were in the habit of going periodically to the 
industrial centres to work for a few months, 
returning to their fields at harvest-time. All this 
provided a most fertile soil for the growth of 
Socialism, and the newly-formed Socialist party in 
Russia sent emissaries to the Caucasus in consider- 
able numbers. The Georgian peasantry, as well as 
some of the students and other “intellectuals,” were 
quickly attracted by the propaganda, and, as M. 
Staroselsky, the Governor of Kutais, told me, they 
have now no further need of outside agitators, but 
are quite capable of providing their own leaders. 
Curiously enough, the Russian authorities did not 
altogether disapprove of the Socialist agitation, and 
we find in Georgia the same tendency to encourage 
Socialism as an antidote to middle-class Constitu- 
tionalism and Liberalism as in Russia itself, where 
the famous Zubatoff movement of the Moscow work- 
men was actually organized under the auspices of the 
secret police. Prince Golytzin and the bureaucrats 
of the Plehve school were far less afraid of Social 
Democracy than of the Nationalism of the Georgian 


74 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


nobles and intellectuals, whose aims were in the 
direction of constitutional government, and there- 
fore incompatible with autocracy, of national 
autonomy which might lead to separation and the 
break-up of the Empire, and of an autocephalous 
Church, which naturally aroused the fears of M. 
Pobiedonostzeff. Consequently, Social Democracy, 
which was in its beginnings a purely economic 
movement, and at all times essentially anti-national, 
was not opposed with the vigour which might have 
been expected, and if not actually countenanced, 
neither was it actively repressed. Prince Golytzin 
hoped to create a breach between the Georgian 
Nationalist upper classes and the peasantry, and to 
introduce a mild milk-and-water Socialism, sufficient 
to weaken the autonomists, but docile and friendly 
to the authorities. 

But when, after Prince Golytzin’s departure and the 
outburst of the war, the bonds of discipline were 
loosened, the revolutionary movement spread like 
wildfire throughout the land, and it soon became 
evident that the Social Democrats, who had been 
slowly and efficiently organizing themselves, had 
become a real power, and were anything but 
favourably disposed towards the Government. The 
Nationalists had been unable to organize, and were 
therefore less formidable, whereas the Socialist 
movement had penetrated deep into the minds of 
the people, so that large districts were almost 
solidly Socialist. The various groups of Nationalists 
tried to organize themselves, and having more money 
were able to achieve something, but it was very little 


KUTAIS AND THE GEORGIAN MOVEMENT 75 


as compared with what the Social Democrats had 
done. There was a certain amount of agrarian 
anti-landlord agitation, and several influential land- 
lords like Prince Eristavi and Prince Guriely were 
assassinated by their own peasants. The districts of 
Gory, Dushet, Kutais, and Ozurgety were hotbeds of 
disturbance, and the peasants began to refuse to pay 
the landlord his share of the produce of the soil, or at 
all events to pay only a small part of it. In some 
cases they quietly gave him notice that his presence 
was no longer required on his estates, and they 
provided him with a cart with which to remove 
himself and his belongings. Over large districts the 
peasants, on the exhortation of agitators who told 
them that either God or the Tzar had decreed that 
the land was theirs, annexed first the property of 
the Church and the State, and next that of private 
landlords. 

But there was not always great antagonism between 
landlords and peasants, or between Nationalists and 
Socialists. The hatred of the Government was so 
intense that other differences were, if not forgotten, 
at all events shelved. The nobles had hoped, no 
doubt, for a return to the old times, when they ruled 
the land, for the revival of an autonomous Georgia 
governed by an oligarchy. But seeing that this was 
impossible, they were ready to ally themselves with 
the Socialists, or at least to avoid friction with 
them. 

Wishing to learn something of aspirations of the 
various parties, I applied to Prince M., a pleasant, 
intelligent old nobleman who had practically given up 


76 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 

his lands as there was no possibility of cultivating 
them successfully during the present agitation, and 
was devoting himself to industrial pursuits. He was 
employed in the Manganese Institute at Kutais—a 
sort of Chamber of Mines—where he introduced me to 
representatives of several Liberal groups, and one 
revolutionist, a certain M. Z. (of whom more 
anon), sketched out the various aspirations in a 
most synthetic and clear way. A common feature 
to all these programmes, which came as a surprise 
to me, was the fact that every one of them had as its 
first article the abolition of the Monarchy and the 
establishment of a republic. I asked my informer 
if there were no Constitutionalists among the Geor- 
gians. He replied, “Only a few mouchards (spies) 
and officials. We have no use for Tzars in the 
Caucasus.” Asa matter of fact, I do not think that 
this was entirely the case, and although republican 
feeling, as is natural among such a doctrinaire 
people, is much more general than in Russia 
proper, there is a considerable proportion of Geor- 
gians—probably the majority—who would be satisfied 
with a Liberal Monarchical Constitution, accom- 
panied by a wide measure of economic reforms. 
Another common feature was the desire for agrarian 
reform on semi-Socialistic lines. A third was the 
large amount of ill-digested abstract theories im- 
ported from Europe, regardless of the conditions 
of ignorance and backwardness prevailing in Russia, 
and the easy confidence with which the solution of 
every problem by means of paper reforms was 
predicted. 


KUTAIS AND THE GEORGIAN MOVEMENT 77 


I shall begin with the programme of the Federailists. 
This party desires a sort of Home Rule for the 
Caucasus, whereby delegates are to be sent to a 
federal parliament in St. Petersburg for international 
and general questions, while the local affairs of the 
country are to be administered by a local assembly. 
But there must be also a sort of sub-Home Rule for 
the various Caucasian races—Georgians, Armenians, 
Tartars, &c.—each of whom are to have a special 
council. Thus Russia will come to form a federal 
republic on the basis of the United States of America, 
and not a centralized republic like France. The 
Federalists are also Socialists, and recognize the 
necessity of class warfare. But at present the national 
problem is so urgent that it obscures the class 
struggle, and must be solved before social reform and 
the abolition of capital can be tackled. Once it is 
settled it will be possible to set to work to develop 
the ‘Socialist conscience” of the working classes. 
In the economic field the Federalists believe that land 
nationalization will result from the revolution. The 
domains of the State, of the Church, and of the nobles 
must be expropriated and handed over to the rural 
communes, which are to be so organized that every 
man shall have just as much land as he can work him- 
self without the help of hired labour. The Federalists 
do not think that society is sufficiently developed 
at present for the socialization of capital in the 
towns (personal and house property and industry). 
Further demands are for an eight hours’ day, a 
minimum salary, and the rest of the general Socialist 
programme. For the present the Federalist party 


78 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


is allied with the Social Revolutionists, who believe 
in the necessity for violent measures to achieve 
reform. This explains how it is that one finds 
Georgian nobles and terrorists working more or less 
hand in hand. 

The Georgian Social Democrats are in close touch 
with that party in Russia, their views being indeed of 
a more general and universal character than those of 
any other group. They aspire to a_ centralized 
republic, one and indivisible, with no local govern- 
ment beyond that of town and provincial councils, 
uniform all over the country. They disregard diffe- 
rences of race, nationality, and religion, believing that 
there would be no racial antagonism if it were not for 
the iniquities of the capitalists and the nobles. Their 
ideas of agrarian reform are based on a policy of land 
nationalization, but they propose to begin by depriving 
the peasant proprietors of their land so as to make 
the struggle more acute—“ the proletarization of the 
peasantry,” as they call it. In practice, however, 
their proposals are much less sweeping, and they 
would limit themselves to giving back to the peasants 
the land which has been annexed by the nobles and 
the State since the emancipation of the serfs in 1861. 
The Social Democrats also claim a large number of 
political reforms, such as universal suffrage (including 
that of women), the suppression of the standing army, 
the election of judges, and a wide measure of self- 
government for the inhabitants of each district. In 
theory they are opposed to all violent measures and 
desire to effect their reforms by means of passive 
resistance to the authorities, and it was thus that the 


KUTAIS AND THE GEORGIAN MOVEMENT 79 


Ozurgety experiment,* was begun. But latterly they 
have adopted a more resolute attitude; they have 
armed themselves and had frequent encounters with 
the troops in various parts of the country. Their 
strength lies in the desire for agrarian reform and 
their practical attempts to put an end to the existing 
administrative misgovernment. But their weakness 
in the Caucasus is due to their disregard of the exist- 
ing and very real racial and religious antagonisms, 
which cannot be swept away by merely saying that 
they are not there. 

Besides these two parties there are other smaller 
groups. The Anarchists, merely aim at the destruc- 
tion of the existing order of the State and society, 
without troubling about what is to replace it. Then 
there are the Progressive Democrats and the 
Party of Independence; both desire the complete 
independence of the Caucasus, which is to be divided 
into a number of autonomous federated States. They 
do not wish to destroy the rights of property, but 
demand wide social legislation. The idea of render- 
ing the Caucasus, with its hopeless medley of rival 
peoples, wholly independent is too extravagant to be 
seriously contemplated. But I have met several 
Caucasians who hankered after some such solution, 
and even suggested that England should intervene 
to bring it about! 

What has been the attitude of the Russian Govern- 
ment towards these various movements? Its natural 
tendency was to repress them unmercifully, but partly 
owing to its weakened prestige and partly on account 

* See next Chapter. 


80 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


of the growth of progressive ideas in European Russia 
it attempted at first to avoid violent methods. But 
its weakness was so manifest that the Georgians were 
encouraged to flout its authority, and things reached 
such a pitch that the Russian officials were incapable 
of enforcing their orders. The impossibility of 
coercing the Georgians and a desire to conciliate them 
led to the appointment of a very liberal, almost 
socialistic Governor of Kutais, M. Staroselsky. M. 
Staroselsky is the son of a Russian father and a 
Georgian mother ; he has lived nearly all his life in 
Georgia, where he held the position of agronome, or 
agricultural specialist—a profession usually associated 
with liberal ideas. Until about a year ago he was 
regarded with great suspicion by the authorities, and 
@ perquisition in his house was actually carried out by 
the police. He was in sympathy and close touch with 
the local Socialists, who indeed regarded him as one of 
themselves. But when he was appointed Governor 
in August, 1905, he found himself in a very difficult 
position. His Socialist friends abandoned him 
because he had accepted the appointment ; his own 
official staff and the Russian colony were opposed to 
him for his liberalism and his Georgian sympathies ; 
and he had not the resource of military power to back 
him up, for, apart from the smallness of the garrison 
in Georgia, it was against his principles to make use 
of force. He hoped, however, to pacify the country 
by conciliation. ‘‘The Government,” he said to me, 
‘has given up all idea of coercing the Georgians by 
violence.” He seemed to me a sympathetic, cultivated 
man, of high ideals and strong principles, very 


KUTAIS AND THE GEORGIAN MOVEMENT 81 


different from the average type of Russian échinounth. 
He was one of the only high Russian functionaries | 
have ever met who was not in uniform, and he 
was quite free from all taint of bureaucracy. He 
believed that in three months the country would be 
pacified, and if his predictions have not been borne 
out, it is certain that things would not have reached 
such a pass had there been more Staroselskys in the 
Caucasus. * 

When I was in Kutais the fullest freedom of meet- 
ing and of speech obtained. The very day I arrived 
I went up to the Arkhiereiskaya Gora to see the ruins 
of the old church and enjoy the view; there on a 
grassy plateau I came upon a largely attended poli- 
tical gathering. The scene was almost theatrically 
picturesque ; the people were collected among grey 
ruins and broken arches, with a hazy background 
formed by range upon range of blue mountains. 
Many varieties of strange costumes were there. | 
could not appreciate the eloquence of the orators 
nor the force of their arguments, for they spoke in 
Georgian, but the ever-recurring allusions to Sotzzad- 
Demokratzia, revolutzia, biurokratzia, left little doubt 
as to the subjects under discussion. Later on I was 
present at a performance given in the theatre to collect 
funds for the revolutionary propaganda, and many 
violent speeches and political allusions were made, the 
proceedings ending with the A/arsezllatse, sung by the 
chorus in its Georgian version, of which the air is 
very tame and emasculated, but the words, I am told, 
are extremely violent. Even in the streets and in the 


* He is now on his trial for high treason. See Chapter XVII. 
6 


82 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


public garden daily meetings were held, in which the 
Government was roundly abused, and at every turn 
one came upon knots of people discussing politics 
with great heat. 

Instances of more violent forms of lawlessness were 
not wanting, and a few days before I arrived a 
Russian colonel was murdered in peculiar circum- 
stances. A student had been killed in an ¢mente 
some time before, and at his funeral several soldiers 
had brought a wreath to the grave. The colonel, 
who was well known for his brutality, punished the 
men severely. A few days later he himself was 
stabbed in the back in the boulevard in the afternoon. 
He fell mortally wounded, and though numbers of 
people were present, including several soldiers, the 
assassin got off scot-free, and no one came to the 
colonel’s assistance. He remained untended for 
some time, and when at last help arrived he died on 
the way home. The funeral was held as quietly as 
possible, as demonstrations were feared, but the 
soldiers, who alone were present, could hardly restrain 
their joy. Every one in Kutais knew who the 
assassin was, but he was never arrested. 

The people were living in a state of excitement, 
as risings and repressions were feared at any moment, 
and almost every day news came in from the outlying 
district of encounters between troops and peasants, of 
Cossacks being quartered in villages, of murders of 
landlords and officials, of massacres by soldiers. But 
in spite of the panic people led their usual lives, 
chatting, laughing, singing, and discussing politics. 
It is curious to note that hardly ever was the Japanese 


KUTAIS AND THE GEORGIAN MOVEMENT 83 


war, then just over, even alluded to, so little was the 
interest it aroused among the peoples of the Caucasus. 
The same thing was observable even in Russia, 
when the great struggle played a far smaller part in 
the lives of the people than it would have done in 
any other country. But to the Caucasians the war 
meant nothing at all. 


CHAPTER V 
THE GURIAN “REPUBLIC” 


NATURAL complement to a stay at Kutais is 

a visit to Ozurgety. Kutais is the centre of the 
Georgian movement, where ideas are discussed and 
plans matured. But there the Government, in spite 
of its weakness, still exercised a semblance of authority. 
At Ozurgety the ideas and plans were being put into 
execution and a practical experiment in peasant 
autonomy of a very interesting nature was made. 
Guria, of which Ozurgety is the capital, is a district of 
the government of Kutais, where all the peculiarities 
of the Georgian character are seen in their most 
intense expression. The Gurians are the bravest and 
most warlike, most chivalrous, most handsome, most 
hospitable, most educated, although not the most 
unpractical of the Georgians. Every village has its 
own library, and even those furthest from the Govern- 
ment post stations provide their own mail service so 
as to receive the daily papers from Tiflis, Batum, and 
Russia. For the past two years they have been 
putting the theories of Social Democracy into practice, 
defying the Russian Government and refusing to 
recognize any authority but their own. 

Ly 


THE GURIAN “REPUBLIC” 85 


The experiment is to a large extent in accordance 
with Tolstoy's theories of government, and last spring 
the great novelist wrote to a friend on the subject as 
follows :— 


“What is happening in Guria is an event of 
immense importance. Although I am aware that the 
Gurians have not even heard of my existence, I have 
nevertheless a great desire to express to them the 
ideas and sentiments which they have awakened in 
me by their admirable movement. Tell them, ‘ There 
is an old man who for twenty years has been cease- 
lessly repeating that all the evils of humanity are due 
to the fact that men are always expecting to find some 
external aid with which to organize their lives; and 
when they see that the authorities do not aid them 
and do not create order, they begin to accuse them, 
to condemn them, to revolt against them.’ What 
should be done is exactly what the Gurians are doing, 
viz., to organize life in such a manner that there should 
be no need for any authority. .. . 

‘Tf it is possible, tell them how great was this old 
man’s joy when he learned that what he had been 
thinking and writing for so many years, what the wise 
and those who think themselves wise did not under- 
stand and would not admit, is just what is understood, 
and not understood only but realized, by thousands of 
men on their own initiative, on their own reasoning, 
and according to their own consciences, and that they 
are carrying out this task so well and with such firm- 
ness that their neighbours are joining them. Tell 
them that not | alone, but many others rejoice in their 


86 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


work and are ready to help them if it is necessary and 
possible, and that we are all convinced that, having 
undertaken this great task for which they have done 
so much, they will not abandon it, but will continue in 
the same road giving an example to the world.” 


The Gurians themselves, however, reject Tolstoy's 
theory of non-resistance, and declare that they are ready 
to fight for their rights if necessary, as indeed they 
have done recently when the authorities attempted to 
stamp out the movement by force. 

I was naturally very anxious to see this district, the 
first part of the Tzar’s dominions to enjoy freedom 
even if only for a short time, and I applied to some 
friends at Kutais. From them I learned that a large 
meeting was to be held at Ozurgety the following 
Sunday, at which delegates of all parties and all 
districts were to be present to discuss a course of 
action in connection with the zemstva which were 
being introduced into the Caucasus for the first time, 
and also with a view to further resistance against the 
Government. The three Kutais delegates asked me to 
travel with them, and I naturally accepted the invita- 
tion most gladly. The visit to Ozurgety caused me to 
miss the Baku fighting, at which I was much annoyed, 
but the experience was so interesting as to be some 
compensation for the disappointment. 

It was arranged that I should meet the delegates at 
the Kutais station, and they would then take charge 
of me. The train was to start at 2 p.m. on a very 
hot September day. The station was crowded, for 
being Saturday numbers of people, in spite of the 


THE GURIAN “REPUBLIC” 87 


unsettled state of the country, were going out of town 
for the Sunday to enjoy themselves. Only two of 
the delegates turned up, the third, M. Z. before 
alluded to, had been obliged to follow a more 
circuitous route as he was ‘‘wanted” by the police. 
Of the other two, one was a pale-faced, bearded, 
Gurian, a professional man living in Kutais, the other 
a short, keen-eyed, dark-haired youth attired in a black 
tcherkesska and black fur cap—hardly the costume for 
this burning weather. Both had travelled in Europe 
(the former spoke excellent French), both belonged to 
the extreme revolutionary wing of the Federalist 
party. I had taken a first-class ticket, but I found 
that my companions were travelling in a third-class 
car, as they wished to avoid observation. At Rion 
junction again an enormous crowd of passengers and 
idlers, for at this hour the trains from Batum, Tiflis, 
and Kutais meet. At Samtredy more crowds, and 
during the stop my companions keep very much in 
the background, for the authorities have heard of the 
Ozurgety meeting and there are gendarmes and 
soldiers on the platform. In the meanwhile Z. has 
joined us. He is a peculiarly interesting character, 
and although under thirty has led a very stormy 
existence. He is a Georgian, and has been exiled 
from the Russian Empire on account of his political 
ideas. He had gone to Europe and studied science 
in Geneva, Paris, and London. But even there he 
got into trouble with the authorities, for he always 
consorted with Anarchists, Socialists, and other 
persons of extreme views. On many a platform in 
many a European city he had been heard denouncing 


88 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE OAUCASUS 


the iniquities of governments, the wickedness of 
capitalists and the bourgeoisie, and advocating the 
social revolution. He speaks French, English, 
German, Italian, besides Georgian and Russian, and 
he is in close touch with the revolutionary leaders of 
every European country. Now that his own land 
was in a state of rebellion, he had returned under an 
assumed name to take his share in the rising. He 
was said to be a very eloquent speaker and in great 
demand at revolutionary gatherings. Young, hand- 
some, attractive, enthusiastic to the verge of fanaticism, 
cultured and intellectual if somewhat unpractical and 
visionary, he should play a prominent part in the 
destinies of Georgia. He had been staying at Kutais 
for some time without being disturbed by the police ; 
but the very day before his departure for Ozurgety 
he had been denounced. He was aware of being 
shadowed, and knew that if he went to the station 
with the others they would probably all be arrested. 
So he let them know that he would join them later, 
and walked out of Kutais alone to a neighbouring 
village. There he obtained a vehicle, and drove to 
a wayside station some distance down the line, where 
our train picked him up. 

At Notaneby we got out, hired a carriage, and set 
off for Ozurgety. Once we had left the railway behind 
us all anxiety as to the danger of arrest was at an 
end, for we were now in free Guria where the Russian 
writ no longer runs, and gendarmes, politzmetsters, 
pristavs, and suchlike gentry are but vain things. It 
is already night, and we have a long drive before us. 
The road is a Russian road, therefore bad; on each 


THE GURIAN “REPUBLIC” 89 


side are fields of grain and tall grasses, with groups of 
trees and small woods every now and again looming 
out in the darkness. We meet a few native carts, 
and some peasants on foot or on horseback at rare 
intervals, but we frequently stop at wayside inns or 
cottages to rest the horses and enable our Jehu to 
refresh himself with spirits. ‘‘ Have you got some- 
thing on you?” one of my fellow-travellers asks me. 
The “something ” was a revolver, and the fact that I 
had not got one caused some surprise. However, I 
managed to travel all through the Caucasus with no 
weapons except a walking-stick and an umbrella, and 
I lost the walking-stick. But I was never in need of 
arms the whole time. When people are so busy 
cutting each other's throats, they have little time to 
devote to strangers, and what they have they expend 
in trying to convert him to their own particular views, 
so that he may “tell Europe the truth about the 
Situation.” 

It is past eleven by the time we reach Ozurgety. 
Mysterious figures in ¢cherkesskas, or in Russian 
students’ blouses, emerge from the darkness, and enter 
into whispered conversations with my companions. 
We are distributed among several houses, I myself 
finding hospitality in that of a Georgian merchant, 
whose sons are ardent revolutionists. Although my 
visit was unannounced the welcome I received was 
of the heartiest, and I shall always have a most 
pleasant recollection of the kindly unaffected hospi- 
tality of these Georgians. The houses at Ozurgety 
are small and very simple. Few of them are more 
than one storey high, built of wood and plaster, and 


90 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


raised on piles above the ground. Each house stands 
in its own garden or orchard, and has several wide 
verandas. The one in which I was lodged contained 
a fairly large drawing-room, a dining-room, and two 
or three bedrooms. The furniture, if not zsthetic, 
was good of its kind and everything was spotlessly 
clean—a detail which one appreciates after staying 
in Caucasian inns. There were the usual éaéhéas with 
their handsome Eastern carpets, a German piano, and 
large collections of photographs and postcards on the 
walls. There being no spare room, beds were rigged 
up for me and Z. in the drawing-room. Making 
the bed is a simple operation: you remove the rug 
from the ¢akhéa put one sheet and a quilt in its place, 
and there you are. In the morning my host's son 
brought in a basin and ewer, and poured water over 
my hands while I washed them, the whole operation 
being conducted on the veranda. Five minutes after 
our getting up the apartment was rearranged as a 
salon without a trace of bedroom about it. Life 
under such conditions is indeed simple. Meals in a 
Georgian house also differ considerably from those in 
Western Europe. In the morning, as soon as the 
samovar is alight, the family gathers round the 
breakfast-table for a light refection of steaming tea, 
@ la Russe (with jam in it instead of milk), eggs, and 
bread. At eleven we had a sort of second breakfast 
of coffee and bread. At 3 p.m. dinner, which begins 
with a glass of vodka and a zakuska, consisting of bits 
of egg, tomatoes, corn, anchovies, salt fish, &c., 
followed by soup, trout, roast meat, and fruit, the 
whole washed down with unlimited quantities of light 


THE GURIAN “REPUBLIC” , 91 


red wine. After that there is no more food—and 
you certainly do not want any—save some grapes, 
until about 10 p.m. or even later, when a supper of 
tea, bread and cheese, fish or cold meat, and wine is 
served. At intervals during the dinner my host's 
two sons, both of whom had excellent voices, sang 
snatches of Georgian drinking songs. The con- 
versation was carried on almost entirely in Geor- 
gian, but one of the young men who had studied in 
France and travelled extensively, translated for my 
benefit. 

Ozurgety is a pleasant little town of some, 
8,000 inhabitants, by the Notaneby river, built on - 
wooded hills a few hundred feet above the sea-level. 
It has broad, unpaved streets, flanked by small houses 
mostly of wood, each in its own enclosure where there 
are trees and grass, but no flower-beds, for flowers are 
rarely grown systematically in Transcaucasia. There 
is a bazar with the usual open booths of the East, 
and a boulevard, or public garden, where the band 
sometimes plays and meetings are held. Peasants 
in a variety of costumes are grouped about, a few of 
them on horseback, others with carts. The whole 
place has a most peaceful and rural appearance, and 
one would never suspect what fierce passions are 
burning beneath these idyllic exteriors nor what bitter 
hatred of Tzardom a hundred years of misgovernment 
have instilled into the people. 

But to return to the serious business of my visit. 
The Gurian movement arose about two years ago 
as a result of the steady propaganda of the Social 
Democrats combined with the Nationalist feelings of 


92 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 
the people fostered by the Georgian press. It began 
with a series of demands for reduction of rent, and 
with protests against the usurpation of peasant land 
by the State. The Gurians who went to Batum to 
work in the case oil industry came in contact with the 
revolutionary agitators, and they themselves soon 
carried the propaganda to the villages when they 
returned home. Then came the refusal to pay taxes 
to the Government, because they had not been 
imposed with the consent of the people. ‘“ Why 
should Guria,” one of my friends said to me, ‘with its 
100,000 inhabitants, continue to pay 250,000 to 
300,000 roubles a year to the Russians who barely 
spend 20,000 on the district, most of which sum is 
devoted to the police and officials whom we do not 
want?” 

The Russian officials were practically boycotted, 
and no Gurian would think of applying to a Govern- 
ment official for anything. The Uyezdny Nachalnik 
(district governor), the chief of police, the magistrates, 
and all the paraphernalia of Muscovite bureaucracy are 
there, but they have no more work to do. There are 
some soldiers in the barracks, but in the early days of 
the movement the peasants avoided collisions with 
them, so as to give no excuse for violent measures of 
repression; more recently, however, there have been 
bloody encounters. The administration was carried on 
by the inhabitants themselves in the most communistic 
manner, each man contributing his share of money or 
labour for the common good. They worked in shifts 
to maintain the roads and bridges, and one sometimes 
saw nobles, priests, peasants, and shopkeepers all 


Ozurcery, Tue Poruar Tribunal, 


0 face page 93. 


THE GURIAN “REPUBLIC” 93 


manfully doing their turn of work. Native schools 
have taken the place of Russian ones, and the children 
are taught the three R’s combined with Socialist 
principles in the Georgian tongue. 

But perhaps the most curious and interesting mani- 
festation of the Gurian experiment is the administration 
of justice as conducted by the peasants. It is in some 
ways a return to the most primitive forms of human 
institutions, and is probably unique in modern 
times. Thecorruption and inefficiency of the Russian 
courts of justice in Georgia was a byword among the 
people, and constituted one of the chief grievances of 
the inhabitants, who constantly but fruitlessly de- 
manded that they should be reformed. When the 
Gurians initiated their autonomy, they immediately 
boycotted the Russian tribunals and set up courts 
of justice of their own. These quickly acquired so 
much prestige and respect that soon not a single 
Gurian applied to the official courts for redress. The 
criminal courts were likewise abandoned, because 
the police no longer dared to arrest any one, and 
‘State prosecutions could not be conducted. Both 
civil and criminal actions were brought before the 
Narodny Sud (popular tribunal), which also exercised 
an important function in composing quarrels. When 
a crime is committed the whole community feel it 
their duty to co-operate in helping to apprehend the 
criminal, and brigandage and robbery have greatly 
decreased in consequence; under Russian régime 
these offences were very common, and their authors 
rarely discovered or punished. But the Navrodny 
Sxd goes further, and inquires into the private morals 


94 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


of the inhabitants. Any man committing adultery or 
living with a mistress is liable to prosecution and 
punishment. This is a sort of protest against the 
loose morals of the Russian officials. The old forms 
of punishment have been abolished; no one can be 
legally put to death, nor even imprisoned. The usual 
penalty is boycotting for a longer or shorter period, 
and as the community is practically unanimous it can 
be carried out very effectively.’ Other curious forms of 
punishment have also been introduced, such as the 
following: a peasant of the district of Sharopany 
having committed adultery with a woman of the 
place, he and his paramour were summoned before 
the Narodny Sud. They pleaded guilty, and were 
condemned to ride through the village stark-naked on 
the back of a donkey; during their progress they 
proclaimed their sin before all the assembled villagers, 
declared their contrition, and vowed to lead a pure 
life in future. 

The method of procedure before the Narodny Sud 
is best described by an account of an actual trial. 
We started out at 11 a.m., a party of about twenty, 
including my companions of the journey. The court 
was being held at some distance from Ozurgety, and 
we had a hot walk across the valley and up a steep 
hill to the little church of Ekhadia. Here was a wide 
greensward under the shade of a group of tall oaks, 
Opposite a grey stone chapel. From this spot | 
enjoyed an extensive and beautiful view of the 
purple mountains of Guria and of Adjaria extending 
to the Turkish border, and of the pleasant green 
valley of the meandering Notaneby. An assembly 


THE GURIAN “REPUBLIC” 95 


of some two hundred people were gathered here 
to administer justice, mostly peasants of all ages 
and both sexes in native attire, but also a few 
“intelligents” in kharki-coloured cotton ‘suits or 
students’ ungainly uniforms, always conspicuous at 
revolutionary gatherings. The court is composed in 
a very. simple way. There are no judges, no jury, 
no. public prosecutor, no counsel; but every person 
present, whether man, woman or child, native or 
foreign, has the right to act in any or all of these 
capacities, and verdict and sentence are decided by 
the vote of the majority. One man is elected chair- 
man, but merely for the sake of convenience, and he 
has no official authority beyond what is derived from 
the fact that he is old and has studied in a university. 
Every one, according to this communistic theory, who 
has an opinion on the matter under discussion has the 
right to express it, and each vote affects the ultimate 
decision. | 

The case to be heard on this particular occasion 
was an appeal: a certain merchant of Ozurgety had 
committed adultery, and in consequence of his offence 
two homes had been brokenup. He had been sum- 
moned before the Narodny Sud some time ago and 
condemned to perpetual boycott—the highest penalty 
it could inflict; now, after undergoing the boycott for 
several weeks, he was appealing to his judges to 
have it withdrawn. He was a tall man about forty 
years of age, his expression very sad and melancholy, 
his hair and beard just tinged with grey. ‘I admit 
my sin,” he declared, ‘‘ and the justice of your punish- 
ment ; but I am deeply penitent, and swear in future 


96 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


to lead a reformed and virtuous life. The sufferings 
I have undergone since you boycotted me have been 
so great, so unbearable, that it would have been better 
if you had killed me outright. I am lost, ruined 
beyond hope, unless you relent, and I have come to 
ask you to forgive me and withdraw the boycott.” 
His words had a genuine ring of emotion and con- 
trition which created a deep impression on the 
audience. Then followed an animated discussion on 
the merits of the case. One after another a number 
of speakers rose and expressed their opinions for or 
against the appeal for clemency. Those who were in 
favour of it dwelt on the apparent sincerity of the 
man’s repentance, on the failure of punishment to 
effect reform if pushed too far; some with that cha- 
racteristic love of abstract reasoning, even alluded to 
“the latest results of science,” and quoted obscure 
German philosophers and Socialist writers. The 
opponents stated that the man was an old offender in 
this respect, that at his age his reformation was not 
likely to be lasting, and that as he had caused the 
break-up of two homes an example should be made 
of him. For over an hour the speeches followed each 
other, illustrated by more or less appropriate argu- 
ments, until finally the chairman moved a resolution 
that the boycott should be withdrawn. On a show of 
hands those in favour of it were obviously in a 
majority; but the opposition demanded a formal 
counting of votes. After some discussion as to ways 
and means, it was decided to use the church as a 
“polling station.” One of the peasants sat down 
before a table near the altar to record the votes, 


Ozurcety. Tue Poruar Teint. 


Te face page 97. 


THE GURIAN “REPUBLIC” 97 


while a priest stood by to give a religious sanction to 
the proceedings. Then each person present at the 
assembly entered the church by the south door 
singly, declared for or against the resolution, and 
made his exit by the west door. The counting of 
the votes confirmed the result of the show of hands, 
the boycott was withdrawn, and the penitent was 
forgiven and admitted once more into the community. 

‘“‘Is not this,” one of my acquaintances exclaimed, 
who had acted as interpreter, ‘‘a far more humane 
and expeditious method of administering justice than 
that of the ‘properly constituted tribunals’? Is it 
not better to be tried in this way than by three 
scoundrels in black robes?” 

The meeting then broke up, and I returned home 
with my hosts. On the way back a small building, 
shut up and deserted, was pointed out to me; it was 
the official court-house which had been closed for 
some time as business was no longer transacted there. 
The district governor tried to make himself popular 
by calling himself a Social Democrat ; it had indeed 
begun to be the fashion among the Russian officials 
in revolution-ridden districts—so long as there are 
not enough soldiers and gendarmes—to declare that 
they held democratic views. A little further on | 
was shown the other Government offices, where the 
Russian officials were whiling away their idle days 
drinking tea and smoking cigarettes. At the end of 
the village are the barracks in which a company of 
infantry were then quartered. Here of course the real 
danger to the “republic” lay, but the troops were 
almost powerless, for every Gurian was armed. My 

7 


98 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


Ozurgety friends expressed the utmost confidence in 
the final outcome. I was told of frequent gather- 
ings of thousands of armed Gurians who practised 
military manceuvres, shooting, and other war- 
like exercises, including ambulance service. Gun- 
running is carried on extensively both over the 
Turkish frontier and by sea, and the Gurians have 
even sometimes got hold of Government stores of 
arms, 

What is peculiarly remarkable about the movement 
is the unanimity with which it has been carried out, all 
classes agreeing in the necessity for getting rid of the 
Russian authorities. The various parties were quar- 
relling among themselves as to the future form of 
government to be established, and in fact the grand 
assembly to which I had been invited never came off, 
as the Socialists and Federalists would not listen to 
each other; but that the Gurians must administer 
their own country was unanimously recognized. 
Even most of the landlords, who have lost income by 
the new arrangement, acquiesce in it fully. ‘If they 
(the Russians) wish to restore the old form of govern- 
ment,” a Gurian declared, “they must kill us to the 
last man ; till then we shall go on resisting.” A high 
Russian official at Tiflis admitted to me that the 
movement was most difficult to deal with, “for it is 
not,” he said, “merely the work of outside agitators ; 
it is backed up by the whole population.” Count 
Vorontzoff-Dashkoff himself told me that the only 
way of pacifying Guria was by wide and liberal con- 
cessions, and that he meant to regularize and legalize 
the Narodny Sud, “which administers justice far 


Ozercery, Tue Desexten Count House. 


To face page 98. Monastexv or Motcamary, Sear Kerais. 


THE GURIAN “REPUBLIC” 99 


more honestly and efficiently than do the State 
tribunals.” 


Since my departure from Ozurgety the situation 
has become even more acute. The policy of the 
Russian Government has alternated between conces- 
sions and coercion. While it sent a liberal university 
professor from St. Petersburg to study the Narodny 
Sud, and the method of communistic administration, 
it inaugurated a series of exehkutztz, 2.e., it quartered 
troops in villages at the expense of the villagers, 
and sent detachments of Cossacks and infantry to 
reduce the people to order. Desperate fighting has 
taken place in and around Ozurgety. The railway 
has been cut again and again, and several military 
trains have been derailed with heavy loss of life, and 
every day troops along the line have been attacked. 
When the troops have been successful they have 
shot down the Gurians without mercy, and the whole 
province is drenched in blood. What has become of 
my kind hosts at Ozurgety I have not heard, for hardly 
any letters get through to or from that disturbed 
land. I shall never forget their warm hospitality, and 
I can only hope that a happier fate is in store for 
that gallant and independent little community. 


CHAPTER VI 
TIFLIS 


HE journey from Kutais to Tiflis takes about 
eight hours, through fine but not magnifi- 

cent scenery. The green, fertile valleys of Western 
Georgia reminded me somewhat of Bosnia, although 
occasionally one has glimpses of far higher peaks 
than any in the “Occupied Provinces.” The railway 
climbs painfully up the valley of the Rion, and then 
of the Kvirili over the Suram Pass to Mikhailovo, 
the watershed between the tributaries of the Rion and 
those of the Kura; it is the highest station on the 
line, and just before it is a long tunnel. A conduit 
pipe for the transport of naphtha has been laid 
between Batum and Baku; but a considerable part 
of the traffic is still carried on by rail, and endless 
trains of naphtha tanks, like large grey boilers with- 
out funnels, are met with the whole way. Once the 
watershed is passed and the train begins to descend 
into the basin of the Kura, the landscape changes 
character. Instead of forest-clad hills and well- 
watered valleys, we are between bare rocky mountains, 
the bottom of the valleys alone being partly cultivated. 

100 


ay ty 0 | (|) 
It is nightfall by the time the handsome station of 
Tiflis is reached. 

Tiflis is said to have been founded in the V. century 
by Vakhtang Gorgoslan, King of Georgia, and early 
in the VI. century it became the capital of the 
kingdom. It was captured and pillaged many times, 
and was held alternately by the Georgians and the 
Persians. Timur the Tartar sacked it in 1395, and 
the Persians razed it to the ground exactly four 
hundred years later. In 1801 it was occupied by the 
Russians. Its name is derived from the Georgian 
Tézlzs, which means hot, on account of the warm 
sulphur springs near the citadel. 

It is one of those towns which, without being a 
real capital of an independent or even semi-inde- 
pendent State, is the centre of a large, well-defined 
region, and regarded by the inhabitants of the sur- 
rounding country as the centre of the world, the 
ultimate goal of all their travels. Situated on both 
banks of the river Kura, it lies in a narrow valley 
enclosed by parallel ranges of bare, stony hills. In 
summer it is one of the hottest places in the Russian 
Empire, for the naked rocks reflect the sun’s burning 
rays, and at the same time keep out the breeze. The 
climate is very agreeable in the autumn, when fine, 
hot days are followed by cool nights for many weeks 
on end. But in winter, although the cold is never 
very great, there are sharp winds which render the 
town unpleasant and not too healthy. The dust is 
also a great drawback, and the streets are seldom 
watered. The right, or western, bank of the Kura 
rises up sharply so that that part of the city is built on 


102 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


a slope, and the suburbs clamber up the steep sides 
of St. David’s Mount. Eastward the town descends 
into a depression until suddenly cut short by a pre- 
cipitous crag with the extensive ruins of an ancient 
citadel on its summit. A narrow shelf creeps round 
this rock following the river to other suburbs and a 
pleasant valley on the opposite side, which has been 
turned into a beautiful botanical garden. The left 
bank of the river is flatter, but rises slightly towards 
the east, and more abruptly at the southern end, 
where another rocky eminence, crowned by the 
ancient palace of the Georgian kings, now a prison, 
is a sort of endant to the citadel. 

The north end on both banks is built in the 
European, or rather Russian, style, with large houses, 
some of them quite handsome, modern shops, electric 
light and trams; here are the residential quarters of the 
Russian colony and officials, of the wealthiest natives, 
the hotels and restaurants, and the public offices ; at the 
extreme north end of the right bank, however, is a 
poor Georgian suburb, while on the left is a small 
German colony called Alexandersdorf. In the 
southern part of the town are the bazars and the 
poorer quarters, which are thoroughly Asiatic. But 
Asia penetrates even into the fashionable streets, for 
the brilliant costumes of the various Caucasian peoples 
are to be seen in the elegant Golovinsky Prospekt 
jostling against men and women in European clothes 
and smart Russian uniforms. The Golovinsky Pros- 
pekt is the finest street in modern Tiflis. Here the 
Viceroy’s palace and several other Government build- 
ings are situated, the museum, the two theatres, the 


Tiruis, Grour or Hicutanvens, 


Tiruis. A Cossack on THe Vorontzor¥ Brivce, 


To face poge 102. 


TIFLIS 108 


best shops, and some imposing private residences. 
At its southern end the Golovinsky narrows down 
to the Dvortzovaya, a street which debouches into the 
Erivan square. Here is the handsome town hall, 
and opposite it the Caravansarai—a large building 
devoted entirely to business, from the offices of rich 
Armenian merchants to tiny fruit-stalls. South of 
the Golovinsky a large square public garden descends 
the slope down to the river just opposite the Voront- 
zoff bridge. At the bridge’s head stands the Hotel 
de Londres, not only the first hotel in the Caucasus 
but one of the best in Russia, especially as regards 
the essentially non-Russian virtue of cleanliness. 
Apart from its other advantages its situation near the 
bridge is an exceptionally good one, and from my 
window I could watch the perpetual stream of traffic 
constantly passing to and fro, the wonderful collection 
of types from all parts of the Caucasus, Russia, Persia, 
and Turkey; Herculean porters carrying furniture, 
Cossack patrols, soldiers going out to the exercise 
ground, water-carriers, and quaint carts of every 
description. The Vorontzoff bridge is the most 
important of the three which cross the Kura. It 
first spans a narrow, muddy branch of the river to 
an island occupied by a number of small shops, and 
then crosses the main current to the small Vorontzoff 
square. If we wish to leave civilization and plunge 
into the East, we need only walk from the Hoétel 
de Londres to the Erivan square through the 
Soldatsky Bazar. An electric tram runs through 
it, but there are shops, booths, and duksans (inns) 
as queer as any in the Tartar or Armenian quarters. 


106 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


strangest shapes and produce the weirdest sounds 
imaginable. Among others I may mention the 
earthenware drums painted red and yellow, and 
the chianury, a sort of guitar-violin, consisting of 
an oval case with a straight handle and a sharp steel 
point at the end. It is played with a bow, but 
seemed to me to be suitable for warlike purposes 
as well. You could hold it by the handle’ and brain 
your enemy with the case, then you run him through 
the body with the spike, and finally you give him 
the coup de gréce by playing on the instrument. 

The animation of the streets is extraordinary. 
There are always crowds of people rushing about 
madly, as though they were in Cheapside or Cornhill, 
but without policemen to regulate their movements. 
Men, women, children, horses, donkeys, carts, cabs, 
rush and clatter about in apparently inextricable con- 
fusion, shouting in many languages. You creep down 
a gloomy passage to escape from the throng, and 
emerge into a courtyard in which four or five huge 
shapeless masses are reposing; on closer inspection 
they prove to be camels. The camel still plays a 
leading vé/e in the trade of Transcaucasia, and is 
even found on the north side of the mountains, 
although railways are tending more and more to 
drive him eastward and southward. 

The actual “lions” of the native quarters are not 
very exciting. There is the Shiah mechet, or mosque, 
an unimposing modern edifice, the Orbeliani baths, 
which, although one is told not to miss them, have 
little that is especially curious, and the church of 
the Metekh near the old Royal Palace, from the 


‘LOT end oo0f o7, 


stNavitg ONY unLAvA AVIAVY, HO NVGIV]C AMY, “stuary 


TIFLIS — 107 


terrace below which one enjoys a splendid view of 
the town, the river, and the mountains all round. On 
clear days the snowy peak of the Kazbek may even 
be seen. The most interesting feature of the bazar, 
and indeed of the whole of Tiflis, is the population. 
I have alluded to the number of different races which 
inhabit the Caucasus, and the forty-five languages 
spoken by them. At Tiflis you find specimens of all 
these races, and in the bazars you can hear all 
their languages spoken, with the addition of such 
extraneous tongues as Polish, German, French, 
Italian, Hindustani, Sart, and sometimes even 
Chinese. The observant stranger soon learns to 
recognize the main types—Georgians, Tartars, 
Armenians, Russians—but it takes long before he 
can distinguish the minor subdivisions of the human 
species here exhibited. 

To attempt to describe all the costumes would fill 
a small volume, and require countless illustrations in 
the three-colour process. The Georgians and the 
mountaineers in ¢cherXesskas of sundry colours and tall 
fur caps; the Tartars in long cotton or woollen tunics, 
usually dark blue or black, with shaven heads and 
tiny white skull caps; Persians in caftams of some 
sombre hue, their hair, beard, and nails stained dark 
red ; Mohammedan mz//ahs in flowing robes and green 
or white turbans; mountaineers of many types, some in 
the écherkesska, others attired in indescribable rags and 
tatters that are kept together goodness knows how ; 
Armenians sometimes dressed rather like Tartars but 
more usually in European clothes ; porters carrying 
enormous burdens—a huge wardrobe, or an iron 


108 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


bedstead, or even a piano. Then there are the 
vehicles of all sorts and descriptions—Russian cabs, 
with handsome, long-tailed horses and rubber tires, 
native arbas of the most antediluvian type, carts with 
hooded awning for fruit and vegetables, carts with 
solid wheels drawn by buffaloes. 

Tiflis owes its importance to its geographical 
position, for it is here that four great lines of traffic 
converge. There is the railway to Batum which 
places Tiflis in communication with the Black Sea 
and the west, the line to Baku for Russia, Central 
Asia, and Persia, now a third to Erivan and North- 
Western Persia, and the military high-road over the 
“frosty Caucasus” to Vladikavkaz and European 
Russia. It has therefore always been an important 
centre of traffic for a large part of the Middle East. 
No longer the capital of a kingdom, it is still a 
commercial centre of the first rank. All the people 
of the Transcaucasia come to Tiflis to make their 
purchases and transact their more important affairs, 
and most of the business of Government is concen- 
trated here. 

The whole town is pervaded by this atmosphere of 
mixed races, languages, and ideas, and the Russifying 
methods of the bureaucracy has done little to unite 
these discordant elements. Tiflis was once, as I said, 
the capital of the Georgian kingdom, and to this day 
a considerable part of the population is Georgian, 
perhaps 35 per cent. But other elements were always 
numerous, and within the last hundred years the 
Armenians have been increasing rapidly owing to 
their migration from all parts of Russia and from 


TIFLIS a 109 


Turkish Armenia. They are certainly a most enter- 
prising race, and here at Tiflis where they constitute 
but a minority of the population (40 per cent.) they 
are gradually getting everything into their hands. 
The Georgians, being extravagant and careless of 
money, have become poorer and poorer, and have 
had to sell their houses and land, which the Armenians 
are only to ready to snap up, and borrow money 
which they cannot pay back. On the Duma, or town 
council, over three-quarters of the members are 
Armenians, and they control all the commercial 
activity of the town. One has but to walk down 
the chief streets to see that the names over all the 
chief shops and of the most important firms are 
Armenian. They may end in -off or in -eff—Kalan- 
taroff,, Oganjanoff, Mantasheff, Gukassoff, &c.—but 
they are merely Russified forms of Kalantarian, 
Ogandjanian, Mantashiantz, Gukassiantz. Armenian 
ideas are expressed not only in such papers as the 
Mshak and the Arsha/uts printed in Armenian, but 
in Russian newspapers like the Movoze Obozrenie, of 
which the staff is almost wholly Armenian. The 
case is paralleled by that of certain Bond organs in 
South Africa printed in English. The fact that the 
Russian officials do not learn the native language has 
obliged the natives to learn Russian ; consequently 
Russian is very much commoner in the Caucasus than 
is English in many British colonies, and numbers of 
quite uneducated people speak it fluently. All the 
names of the streets, and by far the greater part of the 
notices on the shops and the advertisements, even in 
the poorer quarters, are in Russian, although of course 
4 


110 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


signs are conspicuous for the benefit of the large 
proportion of illiterates. In many private families 
both Armenian and Georgian, Russian is ordinarily 
spoken. Yet the native languages show no tendency 
to disappear, but are religiously preserved by means 
of the press, books, schools, and societies of all sorts. 

The Armenians are certainly the most conspicuous 
element of the population, and one comes across 
them in every walk of life. If you go to a bank, 
to a money-changer, to a merchant's counting-house, 
the proprietors, directors, and most of the employees 
will probably prove to be Armenians. If you see any 
particularly large and handsome house and ask to 
whom it belongs, in nine cases out of ten “a rich 
Armenian” will be the answer. The best lawyers, 
doctors, and journalists are Armenians, and until 
lately one found them even in the Government offices, 
The Georgians, on the other hand, have lost much 
of their wealth; I only know of one at Tiflis who 
has amassed a large fortune in recent times. Tiflis has 
thus come to be one of the most important centres of 
Armenian nationalism, although quite outside the real 
Armenia ; after Constantinople which is also outside 
Armenia, it contains a larger Armenian population 
than any other city in the world. Here, too, were 
several important educational establishments, until their 
closure under the Golytzin régime ; lately they have 
been reopened since his policy was rescinded in 
August, 1905. Even the Russian schools of Tiflis are 
largely frequented by Armenians. The head-mistress 
of one of the girls’ gymnasia told me that 90 per 
cent. of her pupils were Armenians. 


Tiruis, Tartar Tyres. 


Te face page 110. 


TIFLIS ill 


The Georgians of Tiflis are not very different in 
character from those of Kutais, save that they are 
slightly more Russified. One finds the same super- 
abundance of princes, the same handsome, dark-featured 
men and women, with keen, black eyes, and charming 
manners, and, it must be added, the same want of 
practical qualities. But whereas in the Western 
Caucasus the Georgians are a compact mass with 
definite national ideals, at Tiflis they are confronted 
by the Armenians as well as by the Russian Govern- 
ment, and are steadily losing ground. Some of the 
greatest Georgian families, such as the Gruzinskys, 
the Orbelianis, the Ratieffs, the Chavchavadzes, still 
live in Tiflis, but their influence is declining, and the 
ancient capital of Georgia is becoming every day less 
Georgian. There are some very delightful person- 
alities among these Georgian nobles. One of the 
most interesting members of the Georgian aristocracy 
died while I was in Tiflis—the aged Princess Chav- 
chavadze. The story of her capture by Shamy]l in 
1856 is one of the most romantic episodes in the 
history of the Caucasus. Her daughter who, at the 
age of four, shared her mother’s wonderful adventures, 
is still alive, and is the widow of the Prince of 
Georgia (Gruzinsky). 

Of the other races represented in Tiflis, none 
play an important part in the town. There are 
some ten to fifteen thousand Tartars, but they are 
neither influential nor wealthy. The head of their 
religion is Ahund-Zadé, the Sheikh-ul-Islam, who, as 
the official chief of the community, resides there. 
But Tiflis is in nowise a Tartar or Mohammedan 


112 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


city; the real Moslem centres ‘of Trans¢aucasia are 
elsewhere. Representatives of all the mountain 
peoples are to be met in the bazar, but their 
numbers and importance are even smaller than those 
of the Tartars. They are picturesque additions to 
the city’s streets and market-places, and no doubt 
add to the tale of murders and robbery for which 
Tiflis is famous, but otherwise they do not count. 
The Russian element is of course much more 
influential, although it is not numerous. There is 
a host of Russian officials and a large body of troops, 
of whom a certain proportion are not Russians, besides 
a number of Russian shopkeepers and workmen. But 
owing to their position as rulers of the country, 
they are bound to influence the aspect and life of 
the town. The architecture of the modern houses 
is essentially Russian, and Russian manners and 
customs are becoming more and more prevalent. All 
public business is carried on in the Russian language, 
and the majority of private affairs as well. The 
schools are nearly all Russian, four out of nine daily 
newspapers are printed in Russian, and the perform- 
ances at the two principal theatres are also in 
Russian. Still the Russians do not feel themselves 
at home in Tiflis; they are strangers in a strange 
land which they regard as a place of exile. Many of 
the higher Government officials have been sent to the 
Caucasus more or less in disgrace, and are conse- 
quently anything but the pick of a class of persons 
who at best are not the most estimable members of 
Russian society. It has been said that if Siberia and 
Central Asia are the hells of the Russian functionary, 


BIT bod vanf og, 


‘smoTvadng HIM Lav SALLVN ‘STAI, 


TIFLIS 113 


the Caucasus is his purgatory. Within quite recent 
times, however, the Government has attempted to 
send some of its best representatives to Tiflis, in view 
of the extremely difficult situation which has arisen. 

Social life in Tiflis is of course gayer than that of 
any other town of the Caucasus, but it cannot exactly 
be described as brilliant. While I was there things 
were in an exceptionally disturbed condition, and 
people lived more quietly than usual, but even in 
normal times, according to all accounts, the city is 
not a very lively one. There are one or two big 
official functions at the Viceroy’s palace, and some 
families do a little entertaining in a quiet way, while 
every year there is a season at the opera where a 
series of performances are given by indifferent artists. 
One of the centres of Tiflis social life is the Krujok, 
a large club, run chiefly by Armenians. In the 
winter dances are given, and in the summer there 
are al fresco entertainments in the pleasant garden, 
where the band plays and ¢out 72ffts may be seen 
promenading up and down, supping or playing cards, 
from 9 p.m. until the small hours of the morning. 

The people of Tiflis, especially the Armenians, are 
most hospitable. On arriving I had only two letters 
of introduction, which, owing to the absence of the 
persons to whom they were addressed, were of no use 
until nearly the end of my stay. But I went to call 
at the offices of the various papers, and the editors 
vied with one another in helping me to obtain infor- 
mation, and in introducing me to persons likely to be 
of use. Also in a private way they and the persons 
to whom they introduced me were most friendly. I 

8. 


& AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


found n 1e of that suspicion which I had been led to 
expect, aid even the Government officials on whom 
le vere most courteous. 1 was constantly being 
invited out to dinner; and excellent dinners they were. 
The only fault which the Western stranger has to 
find with these entertainments is the hour at which 


they take place. y 3 pm., as it was in 
England not so o, and a heavy meal at 
that hour us both lunch and supper, 
However,Is m \ it, and found that even 
when not dini € most convenient time, 
as nearly alltne »a I wished to see were 
visible between ww id hree. Unfortunately it 


was not the case with everybody, and I have dined 
out in Tiflis at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8 p.m. and 
supped at 9 and 10—not on the same day, let me 
hasten to add. 

The private houses of Tiflis, although handsomer 
and larger than those of Batum or Kutais, are by 
no means magnificent or luxurious. As usual, the 
one zsthetic feature is the carpets, which are always 
beautiful ; one also occasionally comes on collections 
of fine old Circassian weapons, silver and gold inlay, 
and Persian curiosities. One house which I saw was 
all decorated in the latest ar¢ nouveau or ‘“ secessionist 
style,” which was certainly unexpected in Trans- 
caucasia. It belonged to a rich Armenian engineer 
who visited Europe every year, and returned with the 
dernier cri in novelties for the house. 

There are not many places of interest round Tiflis, 
and indeed the environs of the city are bare and deso- 
late. One goes through various unattractive suburbs 


TIFLIS 115 


and places where rubbish is shot, past a few factories 
and melancholy-looking inns, and once the town is 
left behind one is in a poorly cultivated, broad, 
almost deserted valley between bare, rocky mountains. 
Occasionally one meets with encampments of gipsies 
or nomad mountaineers living in tents; unkempt men 
and women of the strangest types, attired in rags and 
patches of bright colour—survivals of the earliest 
stages of human development—squat on the ground 
attending to domestic duties; they are protected by 
shaggy dogs of enormous size and unparalleled ferocity, 
which no stranger can approach with impunity. 
Nearer to the town, just beyond the citadel rock, 
is the botanic garden. It occupies a very large area, 
comprising hills, valleys, woods, and streams. It ts 
intersected by a torrent forming quite a respectable 
waterfall, as well as by numerous runlets. There is 
a wonderful show of Caucasian flora, every variety 
of plant growing in the country, as well as numerous 
rare exotics, being represented. Another favourite 
excursion of the people of Tiflis is the hill of St. 
David, which is now reached by a funicular railway. 
As usual in Russia, the enterprise has not been 
properly finished, and the railway, instead of start- 
ing from some convenient point, starts from the 
extreme edge of the town at a great distance from 
the residential quarters, at a point which can only be 
approached by a long drive up a very steep ascent. 
From the summit one enjoys a superb view of the 
town, the valley, and the surrounding mountains ; 
Tiflis covers an immense area, and every year it 
extends its tentacles. One is struck by the great 


116 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


number and extent of green spaces and gardens; 
almost every house has a garden of some sort, 
although, as I said with regard to other towns, 
laid-out flower-beds, or indeed flowers at all, are 
rare. All around the town are the pitiless heat-giving 
stony mountains, only broken here and there by 
vine-clad slopes. Beyond the near hills one has occa- 
sionally a view of the glistening snow-clad peaks. 
The foreign colonies of Tiflis are fairly numerous ; 
there are Germans, Italians, Frenchmen, Austrians, 
many Persians and Turks; I do not think there are 
any British subjects save, perhaps, a few Indians, 
nor is there a British Consul. The most important 
member of the consular body is the Persian Consul- 
General. He holds the rank of Minister in the 
Diplomatic Service, and enjoys a position of great 
dignity. There are several hundred thousand Persians 
in the Caucasus, some of them permanent residents, 
but the majority temporary immigrants who come 
for a year or two, or a few months, to work in 
different capacities, chiefly on the Baku oil-fields. 
The present Consul-General, Faradjollah Khan, is 
one of the most cultivated Orientals I have ever come 
across. He speaks the most perfect French, dresses 
and looks like a European gentleman, and has an 
extraordinary knowledge of all the political questions 
of the Middle East. It is largely to his tact that 
the Persians have taken practically no part in 
the recent Tartar-Armenian troubles. Another dis- 
tinguished and charming member of the Consular 
body is M. Uermenyi, the Austro-Hungarian Consul, 
from whom, although I called on him without any 


TIFLIS 117 


introduction, J] received much hospitality and kind- 
ness. 

But the general appearance of Tiflis, in spite of its 
modern improvements and not inconsiderable wealth, 
is not that of a really prosperous or modern city. It 
has remained essentially Oriental, and backward, for 
the new civilization engrafted by Russian officialdom 
is in itself vitiated with Oriental characteristics of an un- 
desirable kind. The administration is neither honest 
nor efficient, and after a residence of many months in 
the Caucasus, including a long stay in Tiflis, I could 
not help feeling that the country is almost stagnant. 
Nothing runs smoothly ; no service, whether public or 
private, works efficiently or satisfactorily ; everywhere 
there are obstacles to progress, and the population, 
taken as a whole, is not business-like. Even the 
shops are unattractive and ill-stocked. Apart from 
Oriental curios it is difficult to buy anything in Tiflis. 
The goods are of poor quality, but dear in price. 
With the exception of fruit and other eatables, every- 
thing is ridiculously expensive. There is not one 
really good restaurant in the town, although there 
is, as I said before, an excellent hotel. 

The weakness and incapacity of the Government 
has, of course, been more noticeable since the 
country has been in such a disturbed state. While 
things were quiet it managed to rub along fant bien 
gue mal, and an outward appearance of order was 
maintained. But the increasing centralization of the 
administration in the hands of St. Petersburg bureau- 
crats, the corruption of most of the local officials, the 
fatuous and disastrous Russifying policy of Prince 


116 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


Golytzin, undermined the whole structure of society, 
and as soon as the defeats in the Far East shook 
Russian prestige all the latent forces of disorder, 
discontent, and revolt sprang to life and reduced the 
country to its present state of chaos. 

Apart from politics, which will be dealt with else- 
where, the Government has committed many sins of 
omission and commission. Good roads hardly exist in 
Transcaucasia ; railways have been built, but there 
are no roads to feed them. Everywhere else one 
must travel along awful tracks of. stony or muddy 
ground, which takes the place of roads. Nor is 
public safety in the least assured. Even in normal . 
times brigandage, murder, and robbery are rife 
throughout the country; and in Tiflis itself there is 
no attempt to secure life and property; in fact, it 
has been justly remarked that everything is dear in 
Caucasus except human life. 

In every respect Russia’s work in the Caucasus 
compares unfavourably with that of Austria-Hungary 
in Bosnia and the Herzegovina. In those provinces 
the Austrian Government, although it has undoubtedly . 
committed errors in attempting to develop the country 
much too fast, and has failed to awaken the sym- 
pathy and loyalty of the population, has at least 
secured the most perfect order and completely abo- 
lished brigandage; it has established absolute religious 
freedom, introduced a bureaucracy, which, if slow in 
moving, and inclined to red tape, is perfectly honest 
and far from inefficient; it has covered the country 
with a network of excellent roads and railways, and 
built numerous well-appointed schools. Of course 


TIFLIS 119 


Austria’s task was much smaller—the country is 
smaller, the population less numerous, and _ less 
divided into hostile races. But her resources are 
also smaller, the potential wealth of Bosnia is much 
less, the population was infinitely more backward 
than the Armenians or the Georgians, and the time 
has been shorter. Austria, in twenty-five years, has 
converted Bosnia and the Herzegovina from a state 
of absolute anarchy into one of perfect peace. Russia 
in a hundred years reduced the anarchy of the Cau- 
casus to a state of unstable equilibrium, which is now . 
relapsing into a chaos hardly less terrible than that 
of the old days before the Russian conquest. We 
must, however, not judge the administration too 
harshly. We should remember that there is Turkey 
just over the border, where things are infinitely worse. 
Outward improvements such as railways, trams, 
electric light, a certain measure of domestic comfort, 
even if not sufficient to introduce real civilization, do 
make for progress and help to render life more 
possible. One is apt to criticize Russian methods 
because they are so much worse than they at first 
appear to be, but in spite of their imperfections one 
may say of the Empire ‘‘efpur st muove.” 


CHAPTER VII 
PERSONS AND POLITICS IN THE CAUCASIAN CAPITAL 


IFLIS in September, 1905, was literally bristling 

with politics. The conditions of the town were 
anything but peaceful. Everywhere soldiers were 
patrolling the streets; every important building was 
guarded by soldiers; the white coats of infantry and 
cavalry, and the papakks and tcherkesskas of the 
Cossacks were conspicuous at every turn. Passers-by, 
whether on foot or in cabs, were repeatedly searched 
for arms, especially at the bridges, where sentinels with 
fixed bayonets were always posted. One of the 
advantages of staying at the Hétel de Londres is 
that besides the ordinary sights of the Vorontzoff 
bridge you witness amusing scenes as people are 
being searched for concealed weapons. Once while 
“snapping” an incident of this sort I was accosted by 
a soldier who asked me severely what I was photo- 
graphing. I innocently replied that | was immor- 
talizing Tiflis street views, and added that I should be 
much obliged to him if he would tell me the quickest 
way to the post-office, which after some hesitation he 
did. 1 myself was repeatedly searched, but in vain, 
as my revolver, on the strong advice of a friend who 

190 


Tieuis, Martial Law. Tue SeaRcH ror ARMS 


(Monument of Prince Vorontzoff in the Background.) 


» face page 120. 


POLITICS IN THE CAUCASIAN CAPITAL 121 


had lived fifteen years in the Caucasus, had been left 
behind at Batum. At Tiflis, however, every native 
who has a permit carries arms, besides many who have 
not. A story is told of a gentleman who had obtained 
a revolver-permit from the authorities and always 
carried both the weapon and the permit with him. 
One evening, as he was returning home he was 
stopped at the bridge and searched. The revolver 
being found on him, he triumphantly exhibited his 
vazrieshente (permit). The soldier looked at the 
document with a puzzled expression, and then said, 
“It may be all right, but I cannot read. You must 
come with me to the frzstav” (district police com- 
missioner). Off they went to the przstav, who saw 
that everything was ex régle and let the man depart. 
On reaching the bridge a second time, another soldier 
was on guard, and exactly the same thing happened. 
Again he was escorted to the srzstav, dismissed by 
him, and allowed to go in peace; but for a third time 
the same thing happened. It was not until the fourth 
time of asking that the unfortunate man was able to 
get home. Other stories were told of soldiers who, 
while professing to search for arms, took the oppor- 
tunity of relieving people of their purses and valuables; 
although I never met any one who had had such 
an experience, it did not sound by any means an 
impossibility in Russia. 

The state of affairs in Tiflis was one of constant 
unrest. There have been many serious disturb- 
ances in the town since the beginning of 1905, and 
it is here that most of the revolutionary com- 
mittees have their headquarters and many of the 


1233 AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


revolutionary plots are hatched In the early part 
of the year the Armenians were the element of 
disorder, for the Troshakist society was on the 
warpath avenging the confiscation of the Church 
property. But since the Government restored what it 
had taken away, it has ceased to conspire against the 
authorities. The Georgian parties, although most 
numerous and strongest in the west, have been very 
active at Tiflis, and many disturbances and strikes. 
were due to their initiative. There is a certain 
amount of antagonism between the Georgians and the 
Armenians, largely based on economic grounds, the 
Georgians accusing the Armenians of gradually 
ousting them from the Tiflis, while the Armenians 
sometimes accuse the Georgians of being too friendly 
with the Tartars. The Social Democrats are also 
annoyed with the Armenians because the latter are 
too practical to accept the Social Democratic pro- 
gramme, and demand nothing but a moderate measure 
of constitutional reform, and the right to practise their 
religion and their business in peace. But two events 
brought about a partial reconciliation of Armenians 
and Georgians as a protest against the brutality of 
the authorities. In the month of Maya meeting of 
Georgian priests and bishops was held at Tiflis to 
discuss the question of an autocephalous Georgian 
Church. At the instance of the Exarch, who is a 
Russian, troops and police invaded the premises, 
forcibly broke up the meeting, and beat and maltreated 
the priests there assembled. This was regarded as 
guch a flagrant act of despotism that it made both 

amunities realize the necessity for co-operation 

; the Government. 


POLITICS IN THE CAUCASIAN CAPITAL 123 


On September 11th a second occurrence took place 
which united Georgians and Armenians, Socialists 
and Constitutionalists in their execration of Russian 
methods of government; it is a deed which for 
unprovoked and stupid brutality is hardly equalled 
in all the annals of Russian rule in the Caucasus. 
For some time past, especially since the xkaz of 
August granting a certain measure of freedom, 
meetings had been held repeatedly at Tiflis, in which 
political matters were discussed, and the authorities 
never attempted to interfere with them. The meet- 
ings were usually held in the municipal building, with 
the permission of the mayor and council. On the 
above-mentioned day a group of Georgian Social 
Democrats organized a meeting for that evening, 
to discuss the question whether the party was to 
take part in the elections for the newly introduced 
zemstva, and proceeded to the town-hall as usual. 
But being a holiday the council was not sitting, 
and the large hall was closed. The Socialists, 
however, forced their way in, followed by a crowd 
of some two thousand people, mostly Georgians. 
Various speeches were delivered and all went quietly 
for atime. But suddenly a Zvzstav and some police- 
men made their appearance, and ordered the meeting 
to break up. The Socialists refused and hooted 
the pristav. The latter communicated with General 
Yatzkievich, temporary Governor-General of Tiflis, 
who telephoned to M. Vermischeff, the mayor. The 
mayor replied that he had nothing to do with the 
meeting as it had assembled independently of him, 
and that he could not now stop it. General 


124 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


Yatzkievich thereupon went in person to the town-hall 
with a few hundred Cossacks and infantry, whom he 
posted at the exits from the building, in the court, 
on the stairs, and in the rooms adjoining the assembly- 
room. The fristav said that he would attempt once 
more to dissolve the meeting peaceably, but General 
Yatzkievich replied that the matter was no longer 
in the hands of the police, and that he himself would 
deal with it. He sent some Cossacks into the hall 
and ordered the crowd to disperse. There were 
shouts and hoots, and the Cossacks opened fire on the 
assembly both from the platform and through the 
windows from the courtyard. One of the shots from 
outside killed an orator who was standing up to speak. 
A sauve qui peut followed, every one trying to get out 
of the building. But at every turn on the stairs, in 
the passages, in the municipal offices there were more 
Cossacks and soldiers shooting indiscriminately on all 
comers. Men, women, and children were massacred 
by the dozen. A few succeeded in getting out, but 
even in the street they were pursued, one man being 
shot dead several hundred yards from the town-hall 
in a back street. A ghastly incident was that of 
a lady doctor who, having come to the meeting out 
of curiosity, was wounded by a shot, but in spite 
of her injuries she tended others whose injuries were 
more serious. She was in the act of bandaging a 
wounded man with some strips of her own clothing, 
when a Cossack came up and brained her with the 
butt of his rifle. About a hundred persons were 
killed, most of whom were buried at the dead of 
night in a common grave without any religious 


POLITICS IN THE CAUCASIAN CAPITAL 125 


ceremony, permission being refused to the relatives to 
carry the bodies away. The wounded were at least 
two hundred. It was said that a few revolver shots 
had been fired from the crowd, which in itself would 
not be surprising in a country where most people 
carry arms; but as a matter of fact the only Cossack 
who was wounded had been hit by a rifle bullet from 
one of his comrades and not by a revolver shot. 

I visited the town hall some days after the 
occurrence (which took place while I was at Baku); 
the building was riddled with bullets; broken glass, 
smashed electric lamps, doors burst in, shattered 
woodwork, bore witness to the violent scenes enacted. 
I interviewed several members of the xzfrava, or 
administrative council, who, although they were 
Armenians, and had not been on too friendly terms 
with the Social Democrats, took the affair as much to 
heart as though their own people had been the victims. 
The whole of the Duma resigned, the upvava alone 
remaining in office to carry on the administration until 
new elections were held. 

Not long after, General Yatzkievich was removed 
from the position of Governor-General of Tiflis, as a 
sort of punishment for his brutality, but, with the usual 
tergiversations of the Russian bureaucracy, he was 
subsequently sent to succeed Prince Napoleon as 
Governor-General of Erivan. 

On the fortieth day after the massacre, when the 
pantkhida of the dead was held (a funeral ceremony 
of the Orthodox Church), nine bombs burst in 
different parts of the town—all in the vicinity of 
Cossack barracks. It was the answer of the Social 


3 AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


ruled —_a succession of military governors, of whom 
the first was General Knorring. Subsequently the 
custom was introduced of appointing a member of 
the Imperial family as Viceroy, and, under Grand 
Ducal rule, the Caucasus enjoyed a certain measure 
of administrative authority. But in 1882 the Vice- 


royalty was abolish ssian noblemen of high 
rank were appointe e sith the title of Governor- 
General. 17 was Prince Golytzin, 
whose unwise f tting one race against 
another, and of ¢ lass hatred, resulted in 
such disastrous‘ isequ On his departure, the 
government was hi tin e by General Malama, a 


Cossack of Greek extraction, who, although he speaks 
nothing but Russian, and is not a man of great 
genius, seems to have been not unpopular. Finally, 
in February, 1905, Count Vorontzoff-Dashkoff was 
appointed, with the revived title of Viceroy, and 
granted very full powers. He is a general of cavalry 
and atde-de-camp to the Tzar, and had served in the 
Caucasus in his youth, but for many years he held 
the position of Minister of the Imperial Court. After 
resigning that very dignified appointment he had 
retired into private life, but continued to hold a high 
social position in the capital. He is a man of immense 
wealth, of very noble family, and has received almost 
every honour which the Tzar can confer. He is a 
thorough man of the world, speaks many languages, 
knows half the crowned heads in Europe, and is 
altogether a very favourable specimen of the Russian 
grand seigneur, He was sent to the Caucasus, where 
his name should have proved a popular one, for his 


‘Treuis, Martian Law: Prorue Smaxcimp ror ARMs, 


Turtis, Marri. Law: as ARREse. 


To face page 129. 


| 


POLITICS IN THE CAUCASIAN CAPITAL 129 


relative, Prince Vorontzoff, was one of the most 
successful rulers the country has ever had. At the 
same time, his career at Court was not exactly the best 
preparation for the task of putting this anarchic land 
in order, restoring Russian prestige, and reconciling 
bitter racial and religious animosities. 

On my arrival at Tiflis his Excellency was away at 
the baths of Kislovodsk, where he had been spending 
the summer; on his return, G. B: and I asked for an 
interview with him, which was readily granted. The 
Viceroy’s position is superior to that of a mere 
governor, for he is the direct representative of the 
Tzar, and is surrounded by all the pomp and panoply 
of power. To approach him it is necessary to make a 
formal request for an audience through the Chief of 
Police, or some other high dignitary, as in the case of 
Royalty. The chief objection to a visit of this kind is 
the necessity for donning dress-clothes at 3 p.m, 
but one must, of course, conform with the customs of 
the country. His Excellency lives in a huge palace 
on the Golovinsky Prospekt, painted bright pink, 
like all Government residences in Russia, containing 
seventy rooms ; it is, in spite of its ugly colour, an 
imposing edifice, and very handsome inside. The 
doors are guarded by the Cossacks of the Viceroy’s 
convoy, or bodyguard, with drawn swords; a fine set 
of men, in magnificent red ¢cherkesskas and a variety 
of silver ornaments. Other Cossacks are at the head 
of the stairs, waiting to relieve us of our coats and 
hats. We were first admitted into the ball-room, a 
beautiful apartment, decorated in white stucco, with a 
few portraits of Tzars and rows of gilded chairs against 

9 


198 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


the walls, where about a score of other people were 
waiting. Most of them were in military or civil 
uniform ; others, who were Georgian nobles, wore 
the traditional native costume ; one or two were, like 
ourselves, in evening clothes. From the ball-room one 
enjoys a splendid view of the town and the mountains 
beyond. On the other side you have a glimpse into 
an apartment decorated in the Persian style. After 
about half an hour, a polite young azde-de-camp 
ushered us into the presence of the Mamzestnik. 
His Excellency is an oldish but well-preserved man, 
with a dignified bearing and a pleasant manner. 
His attitude was very friendly, and he talked openly 
on many subjects. The burning question of the 
moment was the Tartar-Armenian struggle, then in 
full swing throughout the Eastern Caucasus. He 
frankly admitted the errors of the Russian Government 
in its treatment of the Armenians, and spoke of 
cette désastreuse politique de Golytzin. n his opinion 
the Armenians were really a very peaceful and 
industrious race, and, once the property of their 
Church was restored to them, and permission to 
reopen their schools granted, they would, he believed, 
settle down quietly to their business occupations. 
“They are too good business men,” he added, “not 
to wish to be on good terms with the Government.” 

Speaking of the Tartars, he expressed a great 
personal liking for them, but added that they all had 
“the instinct of brigandage,” and that they needed to 
be kept in order with a firm hand. “It will be 
necessary, however,” he said, ‘to grant them liberties 
and rights, for all men ought to have them equally, 


POLITICS IN THE CAUCASIAN CAPITAL 131 


whatever their race or their religion.” Such a state- 
ment, in: the mouth of a Russian Viceroy, even if it 
were merely a Platonic profession, shows how much 
progress had been achieved by liberalism at that 
time. ‘‘The Tartars,” he continued, ‘“‘ must be edu- 
cated, for they are among the most backward races 
of the Empire, and they themselves desire schools, 
although, unlike the Armenians, they do not want to 
pay for them ; but the Government is quite willing to 
defray the cost.” 

On the Georgian question, Count Vorontzoff- 
Dashkoff's sentiments seemed to be no less liberal. 
He waxed quite enthusiastic in his praise of the Gurian 
popular tribunals, and said that the revolutionary 
movement was poing to be “killed by kindness.” 
‘‘With concessions of a sort which is called liberal, 
but is in reality nothing more than justice, we shall 
satisfy all the better part of the population; while, as for 
the others, we can easily deal with them.” The Viceroy 
admitted that the chief evil of the Caucasus was its bad 
administration. ‘‘We have a few good officials, no 
doubt; but the great majority are dishonest. We 
require a far superior staff of men to that hitherto 
appointed, and they must be better paid. We give the 
functionaries great power and very small salaries. Is 
it surprising that they make use of the former to 
augment the latter?” How often has this been 
admitted by Russians in high and responsible positions, 
yet how seldom has any serious attempt been made to 
remedy it! 

We discussed many other questions, and the impres- 
sion conveyed on me was that the Viceroy was a man 


132 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


of excellent intentions and full of goodwill, but far 
too much of a courtier to deal with the situation. 
The conditions of the Caucasus required then and 
require still statesmanlike qualities of the highest 
order, and great tenacity of purpose, and I much 
doubted whether Count Vorontzoff- Dashkoff possessed 
them. Ferocious racial and religious antagonism 
and the spirit of revolt born of generations of oppres- 
sion cannot be soothed with pleasant speeches and 
comfortable optimism. Had Count Vorontzoff-Dash- 
koff’s predecessors been like him possibly things 
would never have reached such a pitch, but to repair 
the errors of men of the Golytzin stamp, and do away 
with the demoralization produced by an incapable and 
corrupt bureaucracy requires a far stronger man. 
Subsequent events have borne out the impressions 
which I received at my interview, and Russian policy 
in the Caucasus has followed now one course, now 
another, the acts of one day being rescinded the next. 
The Viceroy is much influenced by the more impor- 
tant of his subordinate officials, among whom there is 
the widest divergence of views. 

With the advent of Count Vorontzoff-Dashkoff to 
the Caucasus, several of the higher functionaries were 
changed. The civil assistant to the Viceroy, General 
Freze, was succeeded by Sultan Krym-Ghirei, a 
gentleman of Tartar blood descended from the here- 
ditary khans of the Crimea, but being the son of an 
English mother he has been brought up a Protestant. 
He is one of the most honest and respected of the 
Russian officials of the Caucasus, and has always 
used his influence with the Viceroy in favour of 


POLITICS IN THE CAUCASIAN CAPITAL 133 


liberalism. In Guria, where he conducted an inquiry 
into the condition of the peasantry, his is a name to 
conjure with. Most of the provincial governors were 
changed, and whenever serious disorders had broken 
out special military governors-general were appointed. 
Also the Viceroy’s own staff was largely changed, 
a new Ober-Politzmetster (General Shirinkin) was 
appointed, who also brought several new officials in 
his train. Curiously enough, the police department 
professed to be the most liberally disposed of all 
sections of the administration, and one official, M. 
G., expressed quite democratic opinions, which are 
said to have influenced both General Shirinkin and 
Count Vorontzoff-Dashkoff. I was told by an 
Armenian journalist that his Excellency made the 
appointment of M. G. a sene gua non of his own 
acceptance of the Caucasian Viceroyalty. M. G. isa 
tall, dark man with black hair and beard, about forty 
or fifty years of age; he has keen, intelligent eyes, 
and a glance that seems to take in everything around 
him. He wears no uniform, which is perhaps in 
keeping with his position as chief of the secret police. 
He seems unemotional, cold, and exceedingly astute. 
One of his most curious peculiarities, for a Russian 
police functionary, was his outspokenness. Unlike the 
typical Russian bureaucrat of fiction, or even of fact, 
he made no secret of his opinions nor of his official 
methods. On many occasions when G. B. and I 
went to call on him, he confided his proposals to us, 
gave us a great deal of interesting information con- 
cerning the affairs of the Caucasus and of the revo- 
lutionary movement, and even showed us certain 


134 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 

confidential papers concerning the business of his 
department, papers of a kind which I very much 
doubt if any British official would have shown to a 
stranger. Nor were we his only confidants; several 
correspondents and editors of local papers were treated 
in the same way, and the latter, although not usually 
permitted to print the documents in question, were 
allowed to make use of them for their articles. His 
ideas, although not untainted with the traditional 
Russian bureaucratic system, were certainly not those 
of Prince Golytzin, and he expressed the belief that 
the Government should look for support to the 
Armenians as being the most orderly element of the 
population. He had certain definite views as to how 
the administration of the country should be carried 
on, and he was anxious to make them known. One 
evening he asked G. B., myself, and an Armenian 
journalist to his office in order to expound them to 
us. We were there two hours, and a most interesting 
visit it was. He read out a doklad, or report, on the 
situation in the Caucasus, which he had drawn up 
especially for the Tzar, suggesting a number of 
reforms. The document was a very careful and im- 
partial exposé of the history of the country during the 
last three months. M. G.’s views of the affair of the 
Tiflis town hall were characteristically instructive. He 
said that once the Cossacks were in the building, and 
the meeting refused to obey the order to disperse, they 
were obliged to fire—a somewhat doubtful contention 
—but that the mistake was to send them there at all. 
“Tt would have been better to allow even an irregular 
and illegal meeting to continue unimpeded, than to 


POLITICS IN THE CAUCASIAN CAPITAL 135 


fire on the people. In the first case, no serious harm 
would have been done, whereas, in the second, a great 
deal of bitterness has been aroused.” He was no 
believer in the application of martial law, especially 
in the half-hearted, farcical way in which it was 
enforced in Tiflis. ‘‘ Either you have martial law, in 
which case you apply it in all its rigour—you disarm 
the population, you allow no one to be in the streets 
after nine o'clock, and you place the town under a 
real military dictatorship ; or you abolish it altogether. 
The present system merely annoys peaceful citizens, 
and interferes with business without being of the least 
use in maintaining order.” 

He was by no means well-disposed towards the 
military governors appointed to enforce martial law in 
the outlying districts. ‘‘ They may be good generals,” 
he said, ‘‘ but they are very bad administrators.” He 
was particularly opposed to the Georgian General 
Takaishvili, who was in command at Shusha, and he 
showed me the drafts of several letters, calling that 
officer over the coals for various sins of omission, 
especially for failing to restore order, and to protect 
the lives of the Armenians from the Tartar bands. 
Even towards Prince Louis Napoleon, who was then 
Governor-General of Erivan, he was not too tender, 
for he believed him to have shown insufficient energy 
in dealing with the Tartar-Armenian disturbances, 
although my impression was that the Prince was a 
shining exception among the host of incapable nonen- 
tities governing the various provinces of the Caucasus. 
It is said that it is due to the opposition of the police 
department, that his Imperial Highness eventually re- 


136 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


signed the position, and a member of his suite stated 
that he was perpetually being interfered with by 
officials whose interest it was to keep things in a 
disturbed state. It is quite possible, though | have 
no proof of it, that while M. G. was following one 
line of policy, other officials of the police department 
were following an opposite one. 

On another occasion he showed me a letter from 
the police department, addressed to the commandant 
of the district of Gory concerning that official’s inten- 
tion of arresting sundry persons accused of political 
offences, and exiling them to the north of Russia ‘by 
administrative order” (z.e., without trial). The com- 
mandant was advised not to carry out this proposal, 
‘for, on the one hand, the persons in question, being 
guilty of serious political and even common offences, 
deserve a more severe punishment than mere exile; 
while, on the other hand, punishment by administrative 
order will cause great dissatisfaction among the in- 
habitants of the district who see friends and relatives 
removed without any reason being given. As con- 
clusive proofs of their guilt exist, it is useless to resort 
to a system of punishment whzch should be reserved 
for cases in which there 1s not sufficient evidence for 
the purpose of an ordinary trial.” These docu- 
ments which M. G. showed to me and to others were 
all marked sovtershenno sekretno (extra confidential). 
M. G. seemed to be no believer in the censorship 
of the Press, and often declared that in his opinion 
the Press could by free criticism greatly assist the 
Government, and was perpetually using his influence 

» obtain a reduction of the absurd restrictions of the 


POLITICS IN THE CAUCASIAN CAPITAL 137 


censorship. The foreign Press was then completely 
immune from the interference, and the black smears on 
the English, French, and German dailies, had become 
a thing of the past in the Caucasus, although in 
Russia proper they still continued to some extent. 
On the whole, it appeared to me that M. G. merely 
wished to see order restored in the way least calcu- 
lated to arouse the opposition or offend the suscepti- 
bilities of the inhabitants. If he sympathized more 
with the Armenians it was because he saw in them 
the most peaceful element of the population, and also 
no doubt because it was the policy of the Govern- 
ment to reverse the Golytzin methods. 

About his past record there is some mystery.. His 
opponents declare that he was once a revolutionist, 
and connected with the Russian political exiles in 
Paris, although this was denied by his friends; he did 
belong to the secret police of Russia, and is mentioned 
in Father Gapon’s memoirs as a member of Zuba- 
toffs association of working men organized under 
police auspices. All I can say for certain is that I 
experienced unfailing courtesy, assistance, and hos- 
pitality from him, and that to judge by what 1 saw he 
was a really capable official. 

Towards General Shirinkin, the chief of police, 
public opinion was not very favourable. Although 
he too professed liberal opinions and did some liberal 
acts at the time, he was regarded with the deepest 
suspicion. ‘When you have lived in Russia a long 
time,” a Baku friend said to me, ‘‘you realize what 
the methods of the gendarmerie are, and you can never 
believe in any member of that force.” The recent 


188 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUOASUS 
return to reaction in the Caucasus is believed to be 
largely the work of the Ober-Politsmeister, although 
of course the movement has its origin in St. Peters- 
burg. The tergiversations of the Caucasian adminis- 
tration, which now follows liberal tendencies, and now 
reactionary ones, are said to be due to the fact that 
the Viceroy is sometimes influenced by such men as 
Sultan Krym-Ghirei and M. Staroselsky, and at 
others by General Shirinkin and the reactionary 
officers. 

One thing which was absolutely clear to me from 
my conversations with official and non-official per- 
sonages was the general inefficiency and impotence of 
the Government. In many districts of the west all 
authority was in the hands of the revolutionary com- 
mittees, although here and there the troops might 
hold a town or district. In the south and east the 
country was a prey to the Tartar-Armenian feud, 
which the Government was unable to control. In 
Tiflis itself order could be maintained for just so long 
as the various revolutionary committees thought de- 
sirable. Every Government official complained of 
the lack of troops, and indeed it was very curious to 
see a country apparently swarming with soldiers, and 
yet to hear that they were absolutely insufficient to 
maintain order. In the course of my tour I visited 
all the more important centres of the country, and 
everywhere I saw soldiers, gendarmes, and police ; yet 
nowhere was order fully assured. It might be said 
of the Government of the Caucasus as was said of 
the British Government in South Africa at one period 
of the war, that its authority extended no further than 


POLITICS IN THE CAUCASIAN CAPITAL 139 


the range of the rifles of the army. Of course the 
absence of large bodies of men in Manchuria accounted 
to some extent for the shortage at home, but as a 
matter of fact the actual numbers of the Russian army 
must have been enormously overestimated, and a 
large part of it evidently existed only on paper. 

Daily existence in Tiflis was frequently enlivened 
by riots and assassinations, and by news of similar 
occurrences, often absurdly exaggerated, from other 
parts of the country. Yet life went on much as usual 
in spite of the unrest. Reading about events in 
Russia, in foreign newspapers, one is apt to imagine 
that everybody is in a perpetual state of wild excite- 
ment and terror. Relatives and friends abroad saw 
me in imagination swimming in pools of blood with 
bombs bursting on all sides; whereas as a matter 
of fact I was at the time probably eating my dinner 
in a restaurant to the sound of a band, or expostu- 
lating with a railway porter for not having secured 
the best place for me in the train. 

Nevertheless, politics monopolized conversation, 
and one could talk of nothing else, especially in 
Armenian circles. But to obtain information about 
any particular event was not easy, for accuracy is far 
from being a Caucasian virtue. I do not suggest 
that the people always wilfully tell lies, although no 
doubt some of them do. But the Caucasian, be he 
Georgian, Russian, Armenian, or Tartar, has no 
notion of the nature of evidence. Moreover, I was 
constantly delayed in my inquiries by the inveterate 
Oriental habit of recounting everything a4 ovo. As | 
said in a previous chapter, I discovered this charac- 


140 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


teristic among the Georgians almost the first day I 
landed in the Caucasus. I had hoped that the 
Armenians, being a more business-like people, would 
be a little more plain-spoken, and that I should have 
no difficulty in getting at the bottom of the situation, 
or at least of the Armenian view of it. But I was 
mistaken. One evening I had asked an Armenian 
gentleman for information on certain matters, where- 
upon he invited me to call on him the next day to 
meet one or two other prominent Armenians who 
would make the situation as clear as day to me. On 
reaching his house [ found my host seated on a sofa 
with a huge pile of newspapers and type-written manu- 
scripts beside him; around in a circle sat about a 
dozen other Armenians all bursting with information. 
Among themselves they talked Armenian of which I 
understood nothing save such words as “ Armian,” 
“Tatar,” ‘ Vorontzoff-Dashkoff,” ‘Sultan Krym- 
Ghirei,” ‘ Baku,” “Erivan,’ ‘ Nakhitchevan,” 
‘¢ Shirinkin,” ‘‘ vevolutzta,” “ revolver,” ‘‘ Mauser,” &c. 
But one of them, a journalist who had lived in Con- 
stantinople, talked fairly fluent French and acted as 
interpreter. I shall not attempt to reproduce the 
conversation, which, if I remembered it all, would run 
into several chapters. But this was the sort of thing. 

Q. ‘Can you tell me the cause of the troubles at 
Nakhitchevan last May?” 

A. ‘““When Constantinople was captured by the 
Latins at the time of the Fourth Crusade, the 
Armenian people,” &c., &c. 

After about an hour we come to concrete facts con- 
cerning the events in question. 


POLITICS IN THE CAUCASIAN CAPITAL 141 


Q. ‘‘What are the present demands of the 
Armenians in Russian territory? Is there any 
aspiration for an independent Armenia? ” 

A. “At the time of the conversion of the 
Armenians to Christianity in the II]. century, a.p.,” 
&c., &c. An hour later we have got down to the 
Turkish conquest, and by midnight we have almost 
reached the Russian invasion of the Caucasus. 

These gentlemen were also very kind in furnishing 
me with a number of documents concerning recent 
events; the reports are quite accurate, and replete with 
interesting matter, but all very long. But we must 
not forget what a great part history plays in actual 
politics in the East. Wein the West are apt to dis- 
regard the importance of historic claims, and consider 
only the questions of the moment; but the national 
spirit of Oriental oppressed races is based on their 
_ past history, and abstract ideas which to us may seem 

vain things, to them are all in all. 

_ Another characteristic of the Caucasian Armenians 
is the persistence with which they ask you to express 
your opinion as to the merits of their feud with the 
Tartars the moment you arrive in the country. 
“Who do you think is in the right?” “I do not 
know yet; I have not had time to inquire carefully 
into the matter.” ‘‘But you must know; it is so 
obvious that the Armenians are in the right that no 
impartial person can have any doubts.” The 
Armenians realize their own unpopularity, and they 
make desperate efforts to win strangers over to their 
side. 

After a stay of some months in the Caucasus | 


142 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


confess that at times I felt a litthe weary of thé 
Armeno-Tartar controversy, and of the Socialistic 
aspirations of the Georgians; even the accounts of 
the iniquities of the Russian Government began to 
pall. It was quite a relief to be taken one day to see 
the buildings of the Tiflis Musical Society, and to 
hear animated discussions concerning the probable 
programme, not of the Georgian Federalist party nor 
of the Armenian Constitutionalists, but of the 
symphony concerts for the coming winter. I was 
shown over a really very handsome hall which a 
wealthy Armenian had built, not as a storehouse for 
bombs nor even for the session of the future Caucasian 
Parliament, but for the concerts of choir and chamber 
music, 

A still greater contrast to the local atmosphere was 
afforded by an American man of science staying in my 
hotel. He had been sent out by the United States 
Ministry of Agriculture to inquire into the condition 
of bees in various Eastern countries. He had been 
in Turkey, the Balkan States, and the South Slavonic 
provinces of Austria-Hungary, and was now visiting 
apiaries in the Caucasus, and was interested in the 
country solely from the point of view of bees. On 
hearing that he was going to Erivan, from which I 
had just returned, I began describing the place to him, 
saying how interesting the political situation was. 
But he interrupted my account of the Tartar- 
Armenian disturbances : “ Yes, I am told it is a very 
interesting place indeed. There is a particular kind 
of grey bee there which does not exist in the United 
States nor in any part of Europe.” On my advising 


POLITICS IN THE CAUCASIAN CAPITAL 143 


him to go to Etchniadzin, the headquarters of the 
Armenian Church, he replied that it had no interest 
for him. But the next day he informed me he had 
changed his mind, because he had heard of some 
hives of an unusual type which the monks kept, and 
were worth seeing. He had taken a number of 
photographs on his tour, all of them of beehives and 
bees. Although in weak health, owing to a bad 
digestion, and not caring for riding, he was preparing 
to start on a journey across Persia to India on horse- 
back, all for the sake of his insects. I have seldom 
come across such an instance of pluck and persistence 
as in this delicate, middle-aged man, who was ready to 
undergo any amount of privations and discomfort for 
the sake of scientific work. 


CHAPTER VIII 
ARMENIANS, TARTARS, AND THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT 


HE connection between Russia and the 

Armenian people dates from the time of Peter 
the Great, although even before his reign a certain 
number of Armenians had found their way into Russia. 
Until that monarch’s expedition to Baku in 1722, 
practically the whole of the Armenian race were living 
within the dominions of the Turkish Sultan or the 
Persian Shah. Most of them dwelt on the border 
territory between Turkey and Persia, which formed a 
battle-ground between those two Powers. “Oriental 
frontiers,” writes “ Odysseus,” “are generally vague, 
unless they have been ‘rectified’ by European com- 
missions, and it is one of the maxims of Oriental state- 
craft that it is a good thing to keep the border districts 
desolate and depopulated, in order that when your 
enemies invade your territory they may not find much 
in the way of supplies, and may have some difficulty 
in advancing. The Armenians suffered severely from 
the application of this principle. Devoid of all 
national government, they were raided alternately by 
Turks and Persians, and harried continuously by local 
Mussulman chiefs. The government exercised by 

4 


ARMENIANS AND TARTARS 145 


Turkey and Persia alike meant little but the exaction 
of tribute and taxes, with occasional sanguinary 
reminders that it was the business of Christians to 
keep quiet.” 

But after the Russians began to advance into the 
Caucasus and seized Baku and Derbent, the 
Armenians, oppressed and persecuted by their 
Mohammedan masters, applied, through their Patriarch 
Isaiah, to the Tzar for permission to settle in his 
territories, where they would enjoy freedom of con- 
science and a right to live in peace. Peter willingly 
granted this request, and ordered his representatives to 
protect them in every way. The wily Romanoff saw 
in the Armenian people a most useful instrument for the 
advancement of his Middle and Near Eastern policy, 
a race widely scattered over the dominions of Turkey 
and Persia who might be employed against those 
Powers at the opportune moment. Armenians were 
granted many exemptions and privileges, and admitted 
into the ranks of the Russian army and public service, 
while commercial colonies of them were established in 
all the chief towns of the Empire. Peter’s successors 
followed a similar policy, and the immigration of 
Armenians continued and increased. 

Where the Armenians were most cruelly persecuted 
was in South-Eastern Transcaucasia, which was then 
ruled by Tartar khans or princes under the nominal 
suzerainty of Persia. The chief khanates were those 
of Baku, Derbent, Shemakha, Nukha, Erivan, Nak- 
hitchevan, and Ghanja (Elizavetpol). It was from 
these districts that the Armenians emigrated in the 
largest numbers. Throughout the XVIII. century, 


Io 


146 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


Russia advanced steadily, ever wresting fresh terri- 
tories from Turkey and Persia, and every new con- 
quest was followed by a further influx of Armenians 
from over the border. Sometimes even those who 
remained behind sent their property to Russia for 
safe keeping. The Gregorian Armenian Church thus 
came to have most of its estates in European Russia. 
Under Catherine II. fresh privileges were conferred 
on the Armenians and new colonies of refugees were 
founded, some of which bear the names of the ancient 
homes of the people, such as Nakhitchevan-on-the- 
Don and Armavir (Kuban territory). 

With the annexation of Georgia in 1800 Russia 
further increased the number of her Armenian sub- 
jects. Wherever she advanced into Mohammedan 
countries she found the Armenians friendly and help- 
ful, for they regarded her as their deliverer. Nay, 
the very generals commanding the Russian invading 
armies were often Armenians, such as Lazareff and 
Loris Melikoff. It is indeed safe to say that but for 
the Armenians, Russia would never have conquered 
the Caucasus. Baku, which had been handed back to 
Persia in 1735, was reoccupied in 1806; the province 
of Karabagh which contained the semi-independent 
Armenian communities known as the Melikates, the 
last survivals of Armenian feudalism, in 1813; the 
khanates of Erivan and Nakhitchevan were conquered 
in 1828-29 after a last war with Persia; this was a 
most important annexation from the Armenian point 
of view, for not only did the territory contain a large 
Armenian population, but it comprised the monastery 
of Etchmiadzin, the religious capital of Armenia, and a 


ARMENIANS AND TARTARS 147 


large number of Armenians fought on the Russian 
side. Akhaltzykh was occupied after the war with 
Turkey in 1829; and finally, in the campaign of 
1877-78, Kars, which had already been twice taken 
from the Turks and given back to them, was definitely 
annexed. Numbers of Armenians emigrated from 
the districts which the Russians had occupied in these 
various campaigns but did not hold; thus 10,000 
families from Erzerum followed the Russian army out 
of Turkey after the peace of Adrianople (1829), and 
40,000 refugees from Azerbajan did the same after 
the Treaty of Turkoman Chai in the same year ; other 
immigrations took place in 1878. 

The result of these conquests was that the bulk 
of the Armenians, formerly divided between Turkey 
and Persia, came to be divided between Russia and 
Turkey ; Turkey has now 1,500,000 Armenian sub- 
jects, Russia 1,200,000, only a few hundred thousands 
remaining in Persia and other parts of the world. 

Under Russian auspices the Armenians flourished and 
progressed in every way, and from the status of miser- 
able vayahks of Moslem taskmasters they rose rapidly to 
that of a wealthy and active dourgeozsze. We find them 
as bankers, merchants, shopkeepers, manufacturers, 
lawyers, doctors, teachers, engineers, and officials all 
over the Caucasus, and even in European Russia. 
The Baku oil industry is largely due to Armenian 
enterprise ; at Tiflis, the ancient capital of Georgia, 
the Armenians form over a third of the population, 
have practically all the business of the town in their 
hands, own most of the house property, and constitute 
80 per cent. of the town council. Even in the Russian 


148 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


army Armenians occupied high positions; the Com- 
mander-in-Chief of the Russian forces in the Asiatic 
campaign of 1877 was General Loris Melikoff, an 
Armenian from Lori, and one of his ablest lieutenants 
was General Ter-Gukassoff, also an Armenian. The 
same Loris Melikoff afterwards became chief Minister 
to Alexander II.; he was all-powerful for a time, and 
is believed to have drawn up a constitution which 
would have been promulgated had not the Tzar been 
assassinated in 1881. 

The affection of the Armenian people for Russia 
is thus easy to understand. Under Russian rule, 
although subject to all the disabilities of citizens of 
an autocratic Empire, and to those entailed by a 
corrupt and inefficient bureaucracy, they were at least 
not liable to periodical massacres ; no bar was placed 
on their advancement in any profession; their pro- 
perty was comparatively secure ; and if the conditions of 
public safety in Transcaucasia left much to be desired, 
they were incomparably better than those obtaining in 
Turkey or Persia. The Russian Armenians tended 
to assimilate themselves to their rulers in many 
respects. Although attached to their nationality and 
language, they regarded themselves more or less as 
Russians, talked Russian almost as much as Armenian, 
at all events, in the towns, and even Russified their 
names by changing the terminations za# and zan¢z into 
off or eff. 

In the meanwhile the misgovernment and _perse- 
cution of the Armenians in Turkey was going from 
bad to worse, and they were now beginning to 
dream of imitating the other Christian peoples of 


ARMENIANS AND TARTARS 149 


the Ottoman Empire, the Rumanians, the Greeks, 
the Serbs, and the Bulgars, and throwing off the 
Turkish yoke. In the middle of the XIX. century 
Armenian societies were formed in Paris and else- 
where advocating the idea of a revived Armenian 
nation, and the history of the ancient Armenian 
kingdom was studied diligently and evoked visions. 
During the Russo-Turkish war of 1877 many 
Armenians were massacred by the Turks for their. 
real or supposed complicity with the Russians. The 
Berlin Treaty and the Anglo-Turkish Convention of 
1878 contained clauses obliging Turkey to institute 
reforms ‘‘in the provinces inhabited by the Arme- 
nians.” But the reforms were never executed, and 
the discontent of the Armenians took the form of 
active revolutionary agitation. Turkey being too 
uncomfortable a place to hatch plots in, Tiflis 
became the centre of the movement, which the 
Russian Government did not discourage. In fact, 
whenever a question between Turkey and Russia 
arose, it was followed by a recrudescence of Armenian 
agitation, and by the smuggling of arms across the 
frontier. Russia made use of the committees for the 
purpose of furthering her own Eastern policy, and the 
committees made use of Russian protection to conspire 
against Turkey. Russia at that time posed, and to 
some extent actually was, the protector of the Sultan’s 
Christian subjects. The first Armenian society, the 
Troshak, was very favourable to the Russian Govern- 
ment, and until quite recent times refused to have any 
connection with the Russian secret societies. The 
newer committee, formed at Geneva—the Henchak— 


160 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


was on good terms with the revolutionary party, 
especially the exiles, who were helped by it to intro- 
duce literature into Russia oi Persia. But the main 
object of all Armenian revolutionists was to liberate 
Turkish Armenia. : 
With the murder of Alexander II. the attitude of 
the Russian Government and the temper of the people 
underwent a radical change. The tendencies in the 
direction of liberalism, already on the wane during 
the last years of the late Tzar, were now succeeded 
by a return to rigorous repression such as had not 
been known since the days of Nicholas I. The old 
ideals of Pan-Slavism, which, however much they may 
have been used and abused for questionable purposes, 
had a genuinely humanitarian and generous basis, 
went out of fashion and gave place to a narrower 
Pan-Russian and Pan-Orthodox policy. Attempts 
were made to convert all the non-Russian and 
non-Orthodox peoples of the Empire into Orthodox 
Russians. The first outbreak of anti-Semitism was 
then witnessed throughout the southern and western 
provinces, an outburst to which the authorities allowed 
full licence, if they did not actually instigate it. The 
Poles and the Baltic Germans likewise suffered by this 
reactionary and bigoted temper, and even the highly- 
favoured Armenians were not left undisturbed. In 
the first place, the mere fact that the Armenians 
“dealt in” plots, even if not directed against the 
Russian Government, made them suspects in the eyes 
of the bureaucracy. Then the old Viceroyalty of the 
Caucasus was abolished, and instead of a Grand Duke 
under whom the country enjoyed a certain measure of 


ARMENIANS AND TARTARS 151 


autonomy, a Governor-General was appointed with a 
more strictly bureaucratic position, and wholly depen- 
dent on St. Petersburg. Lastly, Russia for a variety 
of reasons, abandoned her old anti-Turkish policy. 

She had hoped that by supporting the Eastern 
Christians she would be enabled to bring more or 
less the whole of the Ottoman Empire under her 
protectorate, if not her direct dominion. But the 
Berlin Treaty deprived her of the fruits of victory, 
and the liberated peoples of the Balkans showed a 
spirit which no one, neither Alexander II. nor Lord 
Beaconsfield, Prince Gortchakoff nor Lord Salisbury, 
had suspected. The Russian Government, and to 
some extent the Russian people, were getting tired of 
the Eastern Christians, and began to regret that so 
much blood had been shed and so much treasure 
wasted for their liberation with so little result, both in 
immediate advantages to Russia and even in gratitude. 
In the case of the Armenians, moreover, there was 
less sympathy with their sufferings owing to the 
difference of religion, for they were not Orthodox, 
besides being personally unpopular in Russia. 

In addition to all these circumstances, Anglo- 
Russian relations in the early ‘eighties were much 
strained, and war between the two Empires at one 
time seemed imminent. England, as the friend and 
protector of Turkey, could send her fleet into the 
Black Sea at any moment, making its base in the 
Turkish ports ; as Sevastopol was still in ruins, Batum 
not yet fortified, and the Russian Black Sea fleet still 
in its infancy, the whole of Russia’s southern littoral 
was open to an English naval attack. Even if a 


162 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


diversion could be created on the Indian frontier, all 
the Black Sea ports would be seized or laid in ruins. 
Consequently an understanding with Turkey became 
most desirable, both to supplant Great Britain in the 
East and for purposes of self-protection. But for such 
an agreement to be possible Russia must cease to 
worry the Sultan about the Eastern Christians, espe- 
cially the Armenians, who were regarded as the most 
dangerous enemies of the Ottoman Empire. This 
coincided with the suspicion which the St. Petersburg 
bureaucracy felt towards all agitators, and with its 
dislike of alien nationalities and heterodox Churches 
within her dominions, 

The first object of attack was the Armenian schools. 
The Polojenie, or regulating statute of the Gregorian 
Church, issued by the Russian Government in 1836, 
recognized the Armenian schools, although the curri- 
culum was subject to the approval of the Russian 
Minister of the Interior. The love of education is one 
of the most striking characteristics of the Armenian 
people, and all classes show great anxiety to learn and 
to have their children well educated. Illiterate peasants 
are ready to save and starve so as to send their 
children to good schools, and if possible to the uni- 
versity, and many Armenians have given large sums 
to endow schools and scholarships. The Armenian 
schools in the Caucasus amounted to five hundred, 
and they were, on the whole, superior to the Russian 
ones, the teachers being for the most part educated 
men, sometimes with university degrees. Teaching 
was conducted in Armenian, although the Russian 
language and the history and geography of the 


ARMENIANS AND TARTARS 153 


Empire were also taught. Most of the schools 
provided elementary instruction alone, but a certain 
number had five classes, and there were even several 
gymnasia. The Government has never viewed edu- 
cation in a too friendly spirit, and that which does 
not impart Russian ideas was always suspected of 
objectionable tendencies. Suddenly by the saz of 
1884 the last three classes were suppressed, for it was 
desired that all higher education should be conducted 
in Russian schools. The control of the Armenian 
elementary schools was then transferred to the 
Ministry of the Interior. * 

The Armenian clergy protested in vain against 
the #kaz, and the Government's sole reply to these 
remonstrances was the closing of all the Armenian 
schools. In 1886 the newly-elected Katholikos + 
Makar was at last induced to acquiesce in the «haz, 
and the elementary schools were reopened, but the 
higher forms remained suppressed, and the teachers 
were required to possess a Russian certificate and to 
know Russian. The seminaries were alone left un- 
disturbed. In 1896 the schools were again partially 
closed, and in the following year Prince Golytzin, 
who was destined to be the arch-enemy of the 
Armenian people, was appointed Governor-General 
of the Caucasus. Almost his first act was the final 
suppression of all the Armenian schools. 

In the meanwhile the Armenophobe policy was 
progressing in other directions. The censorship of 

* See Lynch’s ‘‘ Armenia,” vol. i. 

+ The head of the Armenian Church. See Chapter X. for an 
account of that Church. 


154 FIRE AND SWORD INTHE CAUCASUS 


the Press was made even more severe. The Arme- 
nian massacres in Turkey, which commenced with a 
small affair at Erzerum in 1890, went on increasing 
until they culminated in the hideous butcheries of 
1894, 1895, and 1896. Russia did nothing to restrain 
the Porte, and did not even express disapproval, but 
on the contrary protected the Sultan against the other 
Powers who were demanding the execution of the 
promised reforms, She feared that were these reforms 
carried out and some form of Armenian autonomy 
granted, a new Bulgaria in Asia Minor would arise, 
which in its turn would create an Armenia irredenta 
movement in the Caucasus. Russian statesmen, indeed, 
regarded the Turkish massacres with the most cynical 
indifference, and Prince Lobanoff is reported to have 
said, “ Nous voulons l’Arménie sans les Arméniens” 
—a dictum thoroughly in keeping with Russia’s Arme- 
nian and Macedonian policy of the last twenty years. 
But in this connection the sole blame must not be cast 
on Russia; the Western Powers were also largely 
responsible, especially England as the prime author of 
the Berlin Treaty. It is very doubtful whether Russia 
would have resolutely opposed an energetic action 
against Turkey had British statesmen had the courage 
to insist upon it. The Armenian revolutionists were 
no longer allowed to use Russian territory to conspire 
against Turkey, and in fact they were now beginning 
to turn against the Russian Government itself, which 
had become hardly less hostile than that of the Porte. 
A few Armenians were found even among the Russian 
revolutionists. 

The year 1896 marks the beginning of a trying 


ARMENIANS AND TARTARS 155 


period for the Armenians of Russia. Prince Golytzin 
was the arm of the reactionary bureaucracy of St. 
Petersburg, personified in such men as Sipiaghin, 
Von Plehve, and Pobiedonostzeff. The object of 
these statesmen was to Russify the Armenians. The 
Armenian intellectuals were regarded with extreme 
dislike, and the conception of a revived Armenian 
nation, which was then being spread about by means of 
books and pamphlets, was viewed with perfect horror. 
There were no doubt Armenian patriots who did 
aspire to a free Armenia, but their proposals were of 
sO vague a nature as to alarm only such nervous and 
hysterical Governments as those of Turkey or Russia. 

The new Governor-General felt a peculiar personal 
antipathy against the Armenians, and carried out the 
policy of his superiors con amore. The schools, as 
I said before, were closed; little by little all the 
Armenians were weeded out of the public service, or 
resigned voluntarily, until none remained save a few 
inspectors of taxes. But even this was not enough. 
It was realized that if the Armenians were to be 
thoroughly subdued they must be attacked in the chief 
stronghold of their nationalism—the Gregorian Church. 
That Church-had been placed, to some extent, in 
leading strings by the Polojenze of 1836, but it still 
managed to maintain a certain measure of inde- 
pendence, and the whole of the clergy from the 
Katholikos downwards were ardent patriots and 
natural leaders of the people. The Church property 
had been used, to some extent, for political or semi- 
political purposes. It is, moreover, not unlikely that 
the Russian bureaucrats had a sort of deep down 


156 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 
hope that by making the Church’s position impossible 
and by allowing only Russophil prelates to be 
appointed, it might some day be drawn within the 
fold of Orthodoxy. However that may be, on 
June 12/25, 1903, M. von Plehve issued a decree in 
which he declared that the property of the Armenian 
Church had been badly managed and used for political 
purposes, so that the intervention of the State was 
necessary for its proper maintenance. Henceforth 
the lands would be administered by the Russian 
Government. Ten per cent. was to be deducted from 
the income for administrative expenses, 5 per cent. for 
a pension fund, and the rest to be paid back to. 
the Church, the various heads of expenditure being 
carefully specified. In fact, the Church was placed 
under tutelage, like an infant or a lunatic. It con- 
tinued to own the capital of its property, but had 
no control over the revenue. 

The measure in itself, arbitrary as it was, might 
be not altogether indefensible. Armenians themselves 
admit that the property was mismanaged ; but that 
the charge should proceed from the notoriously corrupt 
Russian bureaucracy, who was now to administer the 
estates, and the brutal way in which the decree was 
executed aroused the indignation of the Armenian 
people throughout all the world, more especially as 
the Church property did not belong to the Russian 
Armenians alone, but to the Church as a whole. The 
monastery of Etchmiadzin was occupied by police and 
troops, the Katholikos was ordered to hand over the 
keys of the safes, where the Church’s title-deeds 
were kept, to the Vice-Governor of Erivan (Prince 


ARMENIANS AND TARTARS 157 


Nakashidze), and, on the prelate’s refusal, the safe was 
broken open and the papers seized. 

This act of brigandage converted the whole 
Armenian people into revolutionists, and the revolu- 
tionary committee became co-extensive with the nation. 
It enjoyed a power and prestige never before dreamed 
of, and it turned its activities directly against the 
Russian Government. The Church refused to accept 
the doles offered to it out of its own property, but every 
Armenian contributed money for its maintenance, 
and for the work of propaganda. Prince Golytzin 
arrested, punished, exiled numbers of Armenians, and 
ordered dragonnades of Cossacks in the Armenian 
districts. The Armenians replied with bomb and 
revolver. In October, 1903, the Prince’s life was 
attempted by Armenians, and he was seriously 
wounded. His fury against the nation was redoubled, 
and he is reported to have said, “In a short time 
there will be no Armenians left in the Caucasus, save 
a few specimens for the museum.” This attempt was 
followed by others ; the officials, who had _ been closely 
identified with Armenian persecutions and the seizure 
of Church property, and Russian priests who had 
attempted to convert Armenians by questionable 
means,* were systematically assassinated. The Vice- 
Governor of Elizavetpol, the District Governor of 
Igdyr, and the Orthodox priest of Alexandropol were 
among the many victims of Armenian vengeance. The 
committee came to exercise a veritable reign of terror, 


* Some visited the prisons and promised the Armenian prisoners 
guilty of common offences that they would be liberated if they joined 
the Orthodox Church. 


188 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE OAUOASUS 


and if its methods were violent and bloodthirsty, I do 
not think that the most law-abiding European can 
blame it. It became a perfect bugbear to the Russian 
authorities, who thought. they saw its hand in every 
untoward occurrence. With the growth of its power 
it also grew more arbitrary, and in many cases its 
victims were Armenians who were suspected of 
treachery or refused to acquiesce in its pecuniary 
demands. The action of the committee also put 
Russian non-official opinion against the Armenians, 
who were viewed with increasing dislike and 
suspicion. 

The bureaucracy had hoped that by paralyzing the 
Church the political activity of the people would 
cease. But the result was very different, and the 
officials went about in terror of their lives. The war 
with Japan having broken out, the dearth of troops 
was beginning to make itself felt, and the prestige of 
the Government was on the wane. Georgia was a 
prey to revolutionary agitation; the Russian element 
in Transcaucasia was too small and too much imbued 
with revolutionary ideas to be of any use; there 
remained only one element to be relied upon—the 
Tartars—and to them the bureaucracy applied in its 
difficulty. 

For many centuries Tartars and Armenians had 
dwelt side by side in the same territories. The Tartar 
khans who ruled what is now Russian Armenia, 
owned nearly all the land on which Tartar and 
Armenian peasants worked. The Moslem landlord is 
always an oppressive taskmaster, but it is particularly 
on the Christian rayak that his yoke is heaviest; 


ARMENIANS AND TARTARS 159 


the Armenian peasants of Transcaucasia were a down- 
trodden race fatllables et corvéables at the pleasure 
of their landlords, and even in the towns, where they 
might accumulate wealth, they were liable to be 
plundered and murdered by covetous neighbours and 
freebooters. After the Russian occupation, in which, 
as I have pointed out, the Armenians played no small 
part, this oppression ceased and some sort of order 
and justice was established. Yet, although deprived 
of political power, the khans and begs still preserved 
great influence in the country, and the Tartar peasantry 
looked upon them as their hereditary chiefs, whom it 
was their duty to obey. Nor were the Tartar estates 
touched ; on the contrary, owing to the more settled 
state of the country, they increased in value. Russian 
nobility was conferred on the chiefs, who were treated 
with every mark of respect, and often given official 
positions in the army, the civil service, and the local 
administration. But the Moslem community could 
not forget that the loss of their predominance was 
largely due to the Armenians, for which they never 
forgave them. 

While the Tartars enjoyed many privileges, they 
could no longer maltreat, rob, and murder Armenians 
with absolute impunity; and at the same time they 
saw their erstwhile miserable vayaks progressing in 
wealth, education, and influence, monopolizing all 
professions requiring intelligence, and rising in the 
Russian public service. Although many Tartars were 
still rich, the sight of the progress of the Armenians 
was as galland wormwood to them. Even the richest 
Moslems preferred to hoard their wealth and lead the 


160 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


“simple life,” which means dirty, untidy houses, coarse 
food, and no civilized amusements. A few did adopt 
Western ways and luxuries, but they were exceptions. 
The Armenians, on the other hand, once they have 
acquired wealth, indulge their taste for building showy, 
stone houses; they furnish them more or less in the 
European style, dress smartly, travel abroad, send their 
children to the university, in a word, try to Westernize 
themselves as much as possible. Their wealth irritated 
the Tartars and aroused the covetousness of the 
poorer ones ; some Tartar landlords, moreover, became 
indebted to Armenian bankers. At the same time 
Tartar barbarism excited the disgust and contempt of 
the educated Armenians. An intelligent and well- 
bred Armenian professor told me of his meeting with 
an immensely rich Baku Tartar in the train. ‘‘ You 
will hardly believe it,” he said, ‘‘ but that man was 
attired in a ‘reach-me-down ’ suit, and was eating some 
very nasty sweets, of the kind which the commonest 
people like, out of a dirty paper bag. He offered 
them to me, and I was obliged to eat a few for 
politeness, but I confess that they nauseated me.” It 
must be admitted that the Armenians do not hide 
their contempt for the Tartars, and they like to rub 
in their own superiority. 

A more serious cause of hostility is the fact that 
the Tartars have all, more or less, the instinct of 
brigandage. From time immemorial they have been 
raiders, and to this day many villages have no other 
means of livelihood than plunder. The khans them- 
selves, especially in the mountains, are often little 
better than robber barons, who keep hosts of armed 


ARMENIANS AND TARTARS 161 


retainers to forage for them. According to a secret 
official document on the conditions of the Elizavetpol 
Government (written some years ago), the richer and 
more influential are the Tartar landowners, the worse 
are the conditions of the people and the more complete 
the absence of security. Nor have the Tartars much 
respect for human life. The custom of the vendetta is 
very widespread, and one murder leads to a dozen 
others. A Tartar will murder a man of his own race 
and religion for a trifling cause, and be thought none 
the worse of; all the more easily will he murder a 
Christian. A large number of Tartars are still nomads, 
and migrate annually from the mountains to the plains 
and from the plains to the mountains with their 
flocks and herds. In the course of these peregrinations 
they frequently come into armed conflict with the 
sedentary Armenians, and murders, outrages, and 
abduction of cattle are the result. 

Then of course there is the religious difference 
which is at the bottom of all quarrels between Chris- 
tians and Moslems. Tartars are Mohammedans of 
the Shiah sect, and it must be mentioned that in the 
Caucasus it is only the Shiahs who attacked the 
Armenians ; the Sunnis, who are also numerous, took 
no part in the recent disturbances, and in some cases, 
as, for instance, at Shemakha, actually prevented the 
Shiahs from starting a pogrom. 

When we come to the question of character, we find 
yet further causes of hatred. The outward character- 
istics of the Armenian are not attractive. ‘‘ He pro- 
duces,” according to an Armenian writer, “anything 
but a pleasing impression on those with whom he 

11 


162 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


comes in social contact. He is reserved, brusque, 
rude; his egotism and amour propre are excessive ; 
and he is often arrogant to the’ verge of insult. 
Though undeniably honourable in all business 
relations and careful of the rights of others, he is 
often cruel and merciless in maintaining his own 
rights. An excellent husband and father, and 
passionately attached to his home, his conduct to- 
wards strangers is often selfish and arrogant. He 
is cautious and suspicious, and though capable of deep 
feeling, is averse from any show of emotion. He is 
wholly lacking in the great talent of making himself 
agreeable in social intercourse... . He is not so 
much devoid of delicacy of feeling, as boorish and 
unsociable. In general he shows a want of genuine 
kind-heartedness, and of that habit of mind which is 
disposed to treat all men as friends.” Of course this 
is not true of the whole people, and in any case applies 
chiefly to the urban classes ; in my own experience I 
have met many Armenians whose manners and habits 
were those of men and women of the world, and 
among whom, apart from their kindness and hospi- 
tality to me, I felt myself in the company of polished 
Europeans. The hospitality of the Armenians is 
very great, although seldom accompanied by courtly 
manners. The result is that they are usually un- 
popular, and to their real defects others are added 
by their enemies, which find easy credence among 
those who cannot get over their unconciliating be- 
haviour. 

The Armenians also enjoy a reputation for sharp 
and not always straight business methods, and they 


ARMENIANS AND TARTARS 163 


are accused of being usurers. There is some ground 
for both charges, no doubt, but it must be remem- 
bered that they are of the kind always levelled at 
peoples who, having great business ability, live 
among other races who have very little. It is the 
same with the Jews, especially in Russia. In the 
Caucasus it is popularly said that it takes ten Jews 
to cheat an Armenian, just as in England it is said 
that it takes many Jews to cheat a Scotchman. But 
on the whole it cannot be admitted that they are really 
dishonest, most of them are perfectly honourable, and 
by a commercial ability amounting almost to genius, 
they have got the economic development of the 
country into their own hands. With regard to 
money-lending, the usurers of Baku are nearly 
all Tartars, whereas those of Tiflis are mostly 
Armenians. But in no case is usury a very serious 
evil, and the Tartars suffer from it less than the 
Georgians ; for the former retain their land, while 
the latter have lost much of theirs, especially in 
the towns, where they had ruined themselves by 
extravagant living. It must not be supposed, how- 
ever, that all the Armenians are mere money-grubbing 
merchants. Of the 1,200,000 Armenians of the 
Caucasus, not more than 35 per cent. live in the 
towns, and of these a large proportion are workmen. 
‘The other 65 per cent. are peasants, and peasants of 
great industry, but without the defects which make 
the town Armenians disliked. 

Although peaceful and hard-working, the Armenians 
are by no means unwarlike or cowardly, as they are 
popularly supposed to be, because, being unarmed in 


164 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


Turkey, they are massacred by armed Moslems. Not 
to go back to the days when Armenian generals dis- 
tinguished themselves in the armies of the East 
Roman Empire, they fought desperately against the 
Persians in the XVIII. century, and they took part in 
most of the Russian campaigns in the Caucasus, as | 
remarked before. Of General Ter-Gukassoff, Mr. 
C. B. Norman, the correspondent of Zhe Zimes in the 
Asiatic campaign of 1877, wrote : ‘ The way in which 
he handled his men at Taghir on the 16th of June, 
where with eight battalions he thoroughly defeated 
the twelve which Mahomed Pasha opposed to him; 
the stubborn resistance with which he _ checked 
Mukhtar Pasha’s onslaught on the 21st at Eshek- 
Khaliass; the gallant retreat which his half-division 
effected in front of Ahmed Pasha’s_ twenty-three 
battalions; and finally his dashing flank march from 
Igdyr to Bayazid, and the relief of that place in 
front of two Turkish corps, both superior to him in 
numbers, stamp him a general of division of the 
first class. Had the Tzar many more like him, 
this war would have been completed a month ago.” 
Some four hundred officers and several thousand 
soldiers of the same race fought in that campaign. 
During the present troubles, although almost in- 
variably outnumbered by the Tartars,* they usually 
got the better of them, being more disciplined and 
better led. It is interesting to compare the popular 


* The total number of Armenians is not far short of that of the 
Tartars, but in the districts where troubles broke out the latter 
were nearly always in a large majority (Baku, Erivan, Nakhitchevan, 
Shusha, Elizavetpol, and Zangezur). 


ARMENIANS AND TARTARS 165 


Western estimate of the Armenian with that of the 
Tartars. The latter, far from regarding them as 
cowards, profess to fear them greatly; M. Agaieff 
told me that every Tartar must now arm to protect 
himself from the bloodthirsty Armenians, and 
Raghim Khan of Nakhitchevan spoke as though 
the Tartars were the peaceful lambs devoured by 
the ferocious Armenian wolves! 

Politically, the Armenians are democratic and 
bourgeois; they have no aristocracy, the old feudal 
system having died out under Moslem rule, and there 
are really no birth distinctions. The middle class is 
wealthy, and composed of professional and business 
men, and an influential higher clergy. They have 
little love of doctrinaire abstractions, and, in fact, 
enthusiastic Georgian Social Democrats blame them 
for their douxgeors sentiments. They wish to suc- 
ceed in life, to be undisturbed in their work, to 
educate their children, and they do not bother their 
heads about crack-brained Socialistic theories, which 
they know cannot be realized, and if they could, 
would not benefit them. Like Alice, when told that 
if something or other were done, the world would 
go round much faster, they reply with regard to 
Socialism, ‘‘ Which would not be an advantage.” 
But if their ideals are prosaic and practical, they 
have shown the most whole-hearted devotion to their 
Church. Throughout centuries of persecution they 
shave never swerved, and even individual cases of 
apostasy have been very rare, although they had 
every inducement to become Moslems. Now in 
Russia union with the Orthodox Church would have 


16 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 
ended their difficulties, but they have never dreamed 
of such a possibility. 

The Tartars are in every respect the opposite of 
the Armenians. Their outward characteristics are 
most sympathetic. They have a dignity of bearing 
and a charm of manner which endear them to all who 
come in contact with them. These qualities are 
indeed common to most Mohammedans, who have 
a chivalry and gentlemanliness which make us for- 
get even serious faults, and disregard the wrongs 
and sufferings which they inflict on less attractive 
Christian peoples. They have been a ruling mili- 
tary caste for centuries, and this has made them an 
aristocracy of grands seigneurs. 1 have met Tartars 
whom, although I knew them to be utter scoundrels, 
I could not help liking. There is something magnifi- 
cently mediaeval about them which the virtuous but 
bourgeois Armenian lacks. 

The reader will ask why the Tartars should hate 
the Armenians more than other Christians—Russians 
and foreigners. I think the reason lies in the fact 
that the Armenians are in large numbers, whereas 
the other Christians are comparatively few ; secondly, 
the Armenians are permanent inhabitants, whereas the 
Russians come as soldiers, officials, temporary work- 
men, and leave after a few years, and the foreigners 
come to make their pile and also leave soon. Then 
the Armenians tend to regard every town where they 
are fairly numerous as being within the Armenian 
‘sphere of influence,” and their progress is to some 
extent at the expense of the Tartars. The latter 
realize instinctively, although they would be the last 


ARMENIANS AND TARTARS 167 


to admit it, that they are a declining race, and that 
every step of civilized progress puts them at an ever 
greater disadvantage, while the Armenians profit by 
it to become richer and more powerful. They are 
also less afraid of the Armenians than of the 
Russians; the former are merely fellow-subjects, 
whereas the latter are the lords of the land and 
must be obeyed, as otherwise unpleasant conse- 
quences may follow. 

The Tartars are extraordinary backward in their 
development, and as ignorant and barbarous as any 
race in Asia; for this the Russian Government is 
largely to blame, as it has hitherto discouraged 
education among them, while they themselves 
seldom troubled to provide schools of their own. 
Until quite recently no Tartar newspapers were per- 
mitted, except one at Bakhtchi Sarai in the Crimea, 
the number of mullahs, the only teachers for a large 
part of the people, has been strictly limited, and 
the Moslem faith placed in a position of tutelage 
under an officially appointed Sheikh-ul-Islam. Politi- 
cally the Tartars have very few ideas at all. Their 
natural instincts are in favour of absolutism, and they 
acquiesce willingly in their old feudal and _ tribal 
system. In each district there are two or three 
families, usually the descendants of the _ khans, 
enjoying enormous prestige, who can order their 
Moslem vassals to do almost anything. They have 
accepted Russian rule without enthusiasm and with- 
out hostility, although in the war of 1877 there was 
some agitation among the Moslems on the frontier, 
and one or two regiments were actually mutinous. 


168 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 
But they have taken no part in liberal and revolu- 


tionary agitations, strikes, and similar movements, 
because they are incapable of understanding the 
meaning of “ progressive” theories, and cannot read 
the literature on the subject. They are united by 
a religious tie into one community of Shiah Moslems, 
which includes many who are not Tartars at all, but 
they have hitherto had no idea of racial or national 
unity as we in the West understand it. Unlike the 
Sunni Mohammedans they have not even a spiritual 
head to look up to; the Sheikh-ul-Islam, being a 
Government official, has little moral authority, and 
even the mullahs have less power than among the 
Sunnis. It is said that certain holy men in Persia 
called mujtatds have some influence over them. 
Within the last few years a movement has been 
growing up among a small group of influential Tartar 
‘intellectuals ” to educate the people and create a 
national political spirit among them. M. Taghieff, 
the Baku millionaire, perhaps the richest Moham- 
medan in the world, is the financier of the movement, 
and M. Topchibasheff, also a very rich man, is its 
intellectual leader; among his lieutenants are the 
Baku journalists, Agaieff and Hussein Zadé, and 
Ismail Beg Gasparinsky, the proprietor of the 
Bakhtchi Sarai sheet. Although not allowed to 
print Tartar papers in the Caucasus, they propa- 
gated their ideas in other ways, and a Baku paper 
called the Aaspzz, although written in Russian, was 
devoted to Tartar interests; quite recently they 
have been allowed to issue a Tartar paper at Baku 
called the Heyat, edited by Agaieff, an able scholar, 


ARMENIANS AND TARTARS 169 


although a bitter partizan. The Tartar intellectuals 
are by way of being moderately liberal, but they 
are furiously anti-Armenian, and have not been 
without Government backing, as an offset to the 
Armenian and Socialist movements. More than 
once they have sided with the reactionaries, but 
within the last few months they have split up into 
two parties, one more liberal, the other very retro- 
grade. According to some opinions, there is little 
to choose between them. 

But although no love was lost between Tartars and 
Armenians, and racial and religious murders were 
common occurrences, they managed to live side by side 
under Russian rule more or less at peace with each 
other. They did not mix socially, but they met 
over business, at the club, and in connection with 
Government affairs. It was not until February of 
last year that the two races actually fought. The 
origin of the outbreak is somewhat obscure; Tartars 
and Armenians accuse each other of having begun, 
but both are agreed that the authorities promoted, 
or at least encouraged, the feud on their old principle 
of divide et tmpera. There is, I think, no doubt 
that the Government did actually encourage the 
Tartars in the belief that if they attacked the 
Armenians they would not be interfered with, and 
would indeed be thought the better of. During 
the Golytzin ~égzme, the Armenians were, as | said, 
weeded out of the Government service ; gradually a 
new staff was appointed in the Armenian and mixed 
districts, consisting either of Tartars or of Russians 
who shared Golytzin’s prejudices. Some district 


_ 


170 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


governors, police-masters, and fristavs, and practi- 
cally all the common policemen were Tartars. 
Consequently the state of affairs in Eastern Trans- 
caucasia came to resemble that obtaining in those 
parts of Turkey where Christian and Moslem dwell 
side by side, all offices and authority being in the 
hands of the latter. Prince Golytzin and his lieu- 
tenants conferred many favours on the Tartars, and 
were perpetually descanting before them on the 
iniquities of the Armenians. The Tartars were not 
slow to profit by this state of things, Arms were 
smuggled over from Persia in large quantities, 
and a sort of understanding was arrived at between 
all the chief Tartar notables as to a plan of action. 
Probably at first only those of the Baku government, 
where the racial antagonism was most bitter, were 
implicated in the conspiracy, but very soon the whole 
Tartar element of Transcaucasia was involved, and 
possibly also some of the Mohammedans of the West. 
Of the complicity of those of Persia there is no direct 
proof. Their general scheme was probably nothing 
more than an indiscriminate massacre of every 
Armenian in the governments of Baku, Daghestan, 
Elizavetpol, and Erivan. The Russian authorities 
were constantly prophesying an Armeno-Tartar out- 
break, and telling the Tartars that the Armenians 
were sure to attack them sooner or later. When 
you prophesy a thing long enough the chances are 
that it will really happen. Then the war in the 
Far East broke out, and every alien race in the 
Empire began to advance demands for freedom 
and reforms. The Tartars felt that they too might 


ARMENIANS AND TARTARS 171 


obtain something, and although they cared nothing 
for constitutions, they felt that the time had come 
to wipe out their old rivals the Armenians, whom 
the Government disliked, and, they thought, was not 
in a position to defend, even if it wanted to do so. 
In such an atmosphere, the smallest spark was 
enough to set the whole country alight. 

I have set forth the details of the outbreaks and 
massacres in other chapters and the probable share 
of responsibility attributable to the authorities in each 
case. Here I shall merely state a few main facts. 
In July, 1904, Prince Golytzin left the Caucasus for 
good, but his lieutenants, General Freze (acting 
Governor-General) and Prince Nakashidze (Governor 
of Baku), remained behind to continue his Armeno- 
phobe policy; its natural outcome was the Baku 
outbreak in February, 1905. After Baku- there was 
comparative peace, save for a small affair at Erivan 
in March, until the ghastly massacres of Nakhitchevan 
in May. In the meanwhile Count Vorontzoff-Dash- 
koff had arrived in the Caucasus as Viceroy with 
instructions to initiate a more conciliatory policy. 
His civil assistant, Sultan Krym-Ghirei, although of 
Tartar extraction and not too sympathetic towards 
the Armenians, proved himself a liberal and fair- 
minded official, and his military assistant, General 
Malama, took little part in politics, but is admitted 
to have acted with impartiality; the part played by 
General Shirinkin, the Oder-Polstzmeztstey,* is more 

* The Russified German word /o/itsmeis‘er denotes the chief of 


police of every capital of a government or province ; in a few more 
important towns there is an Ober-Polttsmeister. 


17a FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


doubtful, but at all events, at the beginning, he too 
adopted a friendly attitude towards the Armenians. 
It seemed as though the Government were getting 
alarmed at the Frankenstein which they had created 
in the Tartar movement, and beginning to feel that 
once this ferocious and warlike people were aroused 
it would be difficult to stop them, and that they 
might one day turn against their rulers. Then the 
Armenians, who, it had been thought, could be so 
easily crushed, had proved themselves very tough 
customers. Thirdly, the whole of the Western 
Caucasus was more or less in open revolt, and the 
Georgians were advancing far more radical demands 
than the Armenians, who merely asked to be left in 
peace, and that the Church lands and the schools 
should be given back to them. The authorities also 
realized that the Armenians, if conciliated, would 
prove the most reliable and conservative element in 
the Caucasus, and that with their friendship the task 
of subduing the others would be greatly simplified. 
Consequently, in August, 1905, just before the first 
of many constitutional «fazes, the Government policy 
performed a complete volte-face by restoring the pro- 
perty of the Gregorian Church and granting permis- 
sion to the Armenians to reopen their schools. This, 
of course, caused immense rejoicing among the com- 
munity; the activity of the committees diminished, 
outrages ceased, and the people were well on the way 
to be completely satisfied. But the Tartar movement 
was by no means dead, and recommenced on a larger 
scale than ever with the Shusha civil warfare and the 
September massacres at Baku. The authorities may 


ARMENIANS AND TARTARS 173 


have been. willing, but they were certainly not able, 
to put an end to the trouble for a long time. As 
soon as quiet was restored in one place a fogrom 
broke out in another. Consequently the committee 
again became active in certain towns, and devoted 
itself to arming the people and directing the operations 
against the Tartars. 

There is one last point to be considered in this 
connection. I think I have shown that sufficient 
causes, internal and external, existed for the Armeno- 
Tartar feud. But there is another view, shared by 
the bulk of the Armenians, according to which 
Tartar outbreaks are merely part of a much wider 
movement of a Pan-Islamic character. It is a 
vast conspiracy organized in Constantinople and in 
Teheran, to bring about a union of the whole 
Mohammedan world, to exterminate the Christians 
of the Middle East, expel all alien Governments, and 
revive the glories of the Bagdad Khalifate. To 
succeed in this scheme it was necessary to begin by 
getting rid of all the Christian elements in the heart 
of the great Moslem region, and of these the 
Armenians were the most important. Hence the 
Armenian massacres in Turkey. Those of Russia 
could not be exterminated so long as the Russian 
Government was strong and more or less friendly 
to them; but once these conditions had ceased to 
be, and actual encouragement from the Russians 
had been received, the attempt to wipe out the 
Armenians was undertaken. 

I took some trouble to inquire into this question, 
and interrogated a number of people of all races and 


174 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


classes. But I was unable to obtain any satisfactory 
evidence on the point. I was told that emissaries 
from Persia and Turkey had been stirring up the 
Tartars ; that mullahs and softas* had been preaching 
the Jehad ¢ in the mosques ; that the authorities had 
seized treasonable correspondence on the person of 
a certain Turkish beg at Batum; that Pan-Islamic 
proclamations had been published in Agaieff’s paper, 
the Heyat, and in a Young Turkish sheet published 
at Geneva called the /##zad. But I never met any 
one who had actually seen a Pan-Islamic emissary, 
or heard him preach Pan-Islamism in a mosque; the 
proclamations in question were all extremely vague, 
and could hardly be regarded as advocating anything 
but hatred of the Armenians and a desire to get 
concessions from the Government, and as for the 
treasonable correspondence, it was limited to one 
letter of no particular importance. Moreover, it is 
impossible’ to overcome two difficulties in the way 
of the Pan-Islamic theory; firstly, the profound 
hostility between Shiahs and Sunnis, which divides 
the Mohammedan world into two sections as different 
and antagonistic to each other as, say, the Ultra- 
montane Clericals and the members of the Free 
Church of Scotland; and secondly, the fact that the 
enormous majority of the Moslem people in general 
and of the Tartars in particular are far too ignorant 
to understand the meaning of such a thing as Pan- 
Islamism, which is merely an imitation, originated by 
a group of Young Turks who have been educated 
abroad, of the various Pan-Nationalist and Imperialist 
* Mohammedan theological students. +t Holy War. 


ARMENIANS AND TARTARS 175 


movements of Europe, such as Pan-Germanism and 
Pan-Slavism. It is an exotic which cannot hope to 
flourish, at all events for many years to come, on the 
uncongenial soil of Mohammedanism. 

To sum up, in considering the Armenian Question, 
we must try to avoid being led away by personal 
sympathies and allowing our admiration for the 
“noble savage” with dignified manners to warp 
our reason and outweigh appreciation of the more 
solid qualities of the Armenians. The virtues of the 
Armenians are of a kind which are bound to become 
more and more valuable as civilization progresses, 
while his vices are for the most part the rough edges 
which, under a wise and progressive Government, 
will be rubbed away. This people is the civilizing 
element of the Middle East, and is likely to remain 
so. Other races will also, no doubt, become really 
advanced in course of time; the intelligence of the 
Georgians is an important factor to be reckoned with, 
and even the Moslem peoples may eventually shake 
off the paralyzing influence of tradition and take their 
place in the general scheme of the world’s progress. 
The best that can be hoped is, not that one race will 
dominate the others, but that each may contribute 
something towards the common good of the country. 


CHAPTER IX 
BAKU AND THE ARMENO-TARTAR FEUD 


HE accounts of the September massacres at 
Baku were slowly filtering into the papers 
while I was in Georgia, and every day news came 
of fresh horrors, some true, some exaggerated, some 
purely fictitious. So I determined to leave Georgians 
and Gurians and hurry to the oil city. My train 
was almost empty, but every train I met coming in 
the opposite direction was crowded with refugees 
flying from the town. According to some accounts 
the whole of Baku was in flames and half the 
inhabitants massacred, while according to others only 
the oil-fields of Balakhany and Bibi Eybat were 
burning. All agreed that the authorities had very 
few troops, but large numbers were reported on 
the way. 

The scenery between Tiflis and Baku is beautiful 
in some ways, but very desolate, and the desolation 
increases with every mile. For a short distance 
after leaving Tiflis the country is fairly green and 
cultivated in the valleys, but the mountains are quite 
bare. Then we gradually descend into the vast 


wastes of the Transcaucasian or Karabagh steppe 
196 


Lan ere cory 


UNMOY, ONMAWIS Y oM4dNIg WOVAVAVY, BNE RT csnsvoava mie ur stay 


BAKU AND THE ARMENO-TARTAR FEUD 177 


Small oases of vegetation appear from time to time, 
where some colony has been planted to cultivate the 
land, but as we near the Caspian these specks of 
green become ever less frequent. There are many 
stations, but save in a few cases there is no village 
or town in sight of them; they are merely stopping- 
places bearing the name of some spot many miles 
away. Close to each station I noticed some curious 
wooden towers, consisting of two or three platforms 
one above the other supported on open frameworks, 
with ladders going up to the top. They are used by 
the railway employees to sleep on during the hot 
weather, so as to escape the malaria, which is very 
prevalent throughout the Kura valley. One can 
hardly conceive of a more lonesome existence than 
that of a station official in this God-forsaken land. 
Such villages as we pass are incredibly primitive— 
groups of mud huts covered with straw or grass, 
sometimes mere holes in the ground hardly dis- 
tinguishable above the level of the plain. Dark- 
skinned Tartars in blue tunics throng the stations or 
ride about the plain on their ambling steeds ; occa- 
sionally a team of oxen may be seen drawing a plough 
across the unresponsive parched soil, and a long 
caravan of slow-going camels passes by. Sometimes 
for many miles at a stretch there is no living thing 
in sight, only the endless wilderness where nothing 
grows but grey artemisia, blue delphiniums, and the 
poisonous Pontic absinth. In the distance to the 
north the purple crags of Daghestan shoot up, bold, 
imposing peaks, sometimes tipped with snow. Many 
rivers descend into the valleys from those mountains 
12 


178 E AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


and also from those of Armenian highlands to the 
south if to join the Kura, but most of them are 
lost ir he parched desert and disappear into the 
sands. There are, however, some broad expanses 
of marsh, rich in fever-breeding mosquitoes, and 
many deep gullies emptv in summer but full of water 
in the rainy 


The atmc mmering sunshine and 
pitiless heat, rery detail of the land- 
scape quiver ritality, but a vitality 
malevolent tc s a sense of the innate 
wickedness of t : this inhospitable land, 
and it is easy to the dread with which 
the Karabagh steppe irded before the railway 


was built, and the many weird legends concerning it. 
It was supposed to be swarming with venomous 
snakes and equally dangerous scorpions. Tales were 
told of vast armies that had vainly attempted to cross 
it and had been swallowed up in its hideous waterless 
wastes. Yet in a more distant past there was here 
a developed civilization and prosperous cities. It is 
one of those countries like Persia, Albania, or Asia 
Minor, where civilization has gone back; the stage of 
agricultural and urban life has been succeeded by that 
of pasture, and this again by complete abandonment. 
Everywhere we come upon traces of buildings and 
irrigation canals where now hardly a blade of grass 
will grow. Nor would it be difficult to restore fertility 
to the land, and in the few spots where irrigation has 
been attempted, as in the German colonies and in the 
fields round Shemakha and Nukha good crops are 
raised once more, for a large part of the soil is the 
black mould so common in South Russia. 


BAKU AND THE ARMENO-TARTAR FEUD 179 


The only large town which the railway passes is 
Elizavetpol, then quiet enough, but where Tartars 
and Armenians were to fight in the winter. Verst 
after verst we crawl down the Kura valley, sometimes 
in sight of the river, until Adji Kabul, where the line 
turns northwards between a steep rocky ridge and the 
sea. The Caspian is glassy and motionless ; it seems 
hardly a real sea at all, but rather some sulphurous 
pool of the Inferno. Not a tree or grass-patch in 
sight; the thick grey dust on the ground swirls up in 
clouds at every breath of air or the passage of the 
train ; the more distant landscape is lost in heat haze. 
For a few minutes we lose sight of the sea and enter 
a narrow cutting with high sand dunes and rocks on 
either side; we soon emerge once more and steam 
slowly into the station of Baladjary, where the Trans- 
caucasian and Vladikavkaz railways meet. Long 
lines of carriages and oil-tank trucks encumber many 
sidings, but while the ordinary traffic is largely sus- 
pended there are signs of feverish military activity ; 
the station is thronged with troops, the white uniforms 
and the glitter of bayonets are ubiquitous, orderlies 
and officers rush up and down excitedly, and several 
guns are being entrained. After a long wait the train 
leaves Baladjary, and soon a heavy black pall appears 
to the north. It hangs over the oil-fields of the 
Apsheron promontory, whence, although they are no 
longer in flames, volumes of black smoke are still 
issuing. We creep along past sordid suburbs and 
ruined buildings, and at last draw up in the truly 
magnificent station of the oil city. An immense 
crowd is collected on the platform, consisting chiefly 


180 RE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


of refi ees fighting for places in the outgoing trains. 
More : )Idiers, more bayonets, more gendarmes and 
policemen. I secure a cab with some difficulty, at 
four times the usual price, for no Tartar or Armenian 
driver dares appear in the streets, and only Russians 
are available, Manv neonle are afraid of using 


cabs at all unl escort of a couple of 
soldiers with f but as I was neither a 
Tartar nor ai nd did not look in the 
least like eith Id safely dispense with 
such protection. 

My first impres ku was desolate in the 
extreme. Grey, ved streets, deep in 


dust, flanked by nouses [ grey stone or mud, 
machinery piled up in yards, windows closed and 
shuttered, few passers-by, but perpetual patrols. A 
certain number of more imposing edifices rise up here 
and there ; they are the palaces of the oil kings and 
the offices of the various companies. In one or two 
streets there are some fairly handsome shops, and 
then close by a wretched Tartar slum. Groups of 
Tartars and Armenians are gesticulating angrily and 
excitedly, a party of armed men is seen through a 
half-closed doorway, and further on a detachment of 
Cossacks with unslung rifles ison guard. A general 
sense of expectation and anxiety hangs over the town, 
and further developments are awaited which will add 
horror on horror’s head. 

I reach the Hétel de l'Europe, a gaunt, comfortless 
hostelry, high as to prices, low as to everything else. 
Here I find a number of people connected with the oil 
world who have left their houses, considering them no 


BAKU AND THE ARMENO-TARTAR FEUD 181 


longer safe. I also found my friend G. B., with whom 
I was to travel for a considerable time. 

Baku is in every sense a unique city. Its appear- 
ance, its history, its wealth, its natural features, the 
character of its inhabitants form an ensemble at once 
wonderful and terrible, fascinating and repulsive. It 
is situated on a hillside and round a broad, well- 
sheltered bay. The old Tartar and Persian quarters 
are on the upper slopes of the hill, and consist of a 
perfect labyrinth of tortuous narrow lanes and ram- 
shackle, tumble-down houses, chiefly of mud; but 
there are also the remains of an old Persian fortress, 
a palace of the khans with some fine Oriental decora- 
tion, old walls, and several picturesque mosques and 
baths. The Tartar bazar is enclosed in an extremely 
narrow space, with booths and shops of the usual 
Eastern type which does not seem to change from 
Bosnia to India. There are fragments of Arab and 
Byzantine fortifications, a curious tower 150 feet high, 
just below the citadel, and some traces of walls 
emerging from the sea. 

Below and around the old city a number of new 
quarters have sprung up to shelter the vast influx of 
people from all parts of the world who have flocked to 
Baku in the hope of making fortunes. The Tartar 
quarter is now separated from that of the Armenians 
by a row of empty houses, for no one dares to live on 
the borderland between the two. Some of the build- 
ings along the quay are large and imposing, but 
everything bespeaks the comfortless ostentation and 
vulgarity of the xouveau riche. Baku, considering its 
immense wealth, is one of the worst managed cities in 


182 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


the world. The lighting is inadequate, the wretched 
horse-tram service pitiable, the sanitary arrangements 
appalling ; vast spaces are left empty in the middle of 
the town, drinking water is only supplied by sea water 
distilled, the few gardens are arid and thin, the dust is 
ubiquitous—fine, penetrating dust that gets into every 
nook and cranny. The country behind Baku is a 
very abomination of desolation, treeless and grassless. 
It seldom rains, in summer it is very hot, and the 
town is at all times exposed to sharp winds. 

Eastward the Apsheron peninsula juts out into the 
sea, and here are situated the Black Town with the 
petroleum refineries, and beyond that the oil-fields of 
Balakhany, Sabuntchy, and Ramany ; those of Bibi 
Eybat are to the east of the town. 

It is a trite description of every Oriental city which 
happens to have electric light, railways, and trams, side 
by side with mosques and bazars, to say that it is a 
mixture of East and West, and to dwell on the con- 
trasts and incongruities of this juxtaposition. But at 
Baku we have both East and West in their most 
intense, if not most attractive, aspect. While in no 
Eastern city are savage passions, bloodthirsty fanati- 
cism, and fiendish cruelty so rampant as in “ Petroleo- 
polis,” in few spots of the Western world, save perhaps 
in Johannesburg and in some American cities, is there 
such fierce financial competition, such mad speculation, 
such colossal frauds, such a thirst for gain quickly 

* acquired, such a building-up of huge fortunes in a 
short space of time, and such irretrievable ruin. 

Baku is a very ancient city. It is said to have 
been founded in the VI. century, and it rapidly 


‘X 


BAKU AND THE ARMENO-TARTAR FEUD 183 


attained to a position of great importance owing to 
its situation as an emporium of commerce ; it is the 
best port on the Caspian, and forms a most convenient 
point of transit to or from Persia and Central Asia. 
Byzantine Greeks, Arabs, Persians, Tartars, Russians, 
have all held sway over Baku at different times, but 
the Persians are those who ruled it longest and left 
the deepest impression. From an early period the 
existence of the mineral oil deposits and of natural 
gases was known, and frequently mentioned by 
medizval writers. The eternal flames were held in 
great veneration by the fire-worshippers, and pilgrims 
came to visit the temples on the Apsheron peninsula 
from all parts of Asia; one of these fanes still exists 
at Surakhany, though it has no worshippers. During 
the XVI. and XVII. centuries Baku, like the rest of 
Eastern Transcaucasia, was ruled by Tartar khans 
under Persian suzerainty. Its whole history is one 
long record of blood feuds and massacre. In 1722 
Peter the Great, who had long coveted the city for 
commercial reasons and for the oil-fields, sent an 
expedition from Astrakhan to Derbent, which town 
was captured, and the following year the Russians 
entered Baku. Some attempt to develop the oil 
industry was made and fifty wells were sunk, but 
the workings were of a most primitive kind. Arme- 
nian settlements existed already in the Shirvan 
province,* but with the Russian occupation their 
numbers increased. In 1735, in the reign of the 


* Now the government of Baku ; before the recent development 
of the oil city Shemakha was the most important town of the 
province. 


184 E AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


Empress Anne, Baku was restored to Persia, by 
whom it was held until 1806, when Russia re- 
occupied it definitely. Since then the oil industry 
has been greatly developed, slowly at first, but with 
astonishiig rapidity during the last twenty years. In 
1829 there were 82 naphtha pits, which rose to 136 


in 1850 and to when they produced 
22,581 tons. Ir ittempt was made to 
extract petrole cude naphtha, and in 
1863 the first rx ided by the Armenian 
Melikoff.* Ai indeed the pioneers of 
the industry, < ais and foreigners soon 
rushed to Baku vers. In 1871 the first 
well was drilled, anu « 3m the new system has 


prevailed over the old. Two years later the first 
“spouter” or fountain was struck, ejecting vast 
quantities of oil, and subsequently others were dis- 
covered. The Orbeloff fountain (1877-81) was 
200 feet high and produced 1,000,000 puds + a week, 
and the Mantasheff fountain of 1881 was more than 
twice as high. The total naphtha production of the 
Baku oil-fields rose from 25,000,000 puds in 1880 to 
614,971,689 puds in 1904. At present the total 
capital invested in Baku amounts to between 
430,000,000 and £40,000,000. Of this amount 
about £8,500,000 is English money. The prices 
for crude naphtha oscillated between 1'1 kopek per 
pud in 1892 and 15°7 k. in 1900 (14°67 k. in 1904); 


* For the statistics of the oil industry I am largely indebted to 
Mr. Henry, editor of the Petroleum World, who has kindly allowed 
me to use the figures collected in his book on Baku. 

+ 1 pud = 36 lbs, 


Baxe. Gunexat View of THe Bust 


Baku. Gexgrat View ov Tun Haxnovr, 


‘To face page 18. 


BAKU AND THE ARMENO-TARTAR FEUD 185 


that of naphtha residues (mazut) between 1°5 k. in 
1892 and 16:4 k. in 1900 (1504 k. in 1904); that of 
refined kerosene (photogene) between 7°7 k. in 1892 
and 31'5 k. for export and 22°5 for home consumption 
in 1900 (25°42 k. for export and 20°33 for home 
in 1904). 

The development of the oil industry has made 
Baku one of the chief industrial centres of Russia, 
and indeed of the whole world, and no other oil-fields, 
save those of America, are so large. The importance 
of the wells for Russia is incalculable. The steam 
navigation of the Caspian, the Black Sea, and of the 
whole great river system, the railways of the Caucasus 
and many lines in European Russia, Central Asia, and 
Siberia, and a number of miscellaneous industries, use 
liquid fuel. The Crown derives large revenues from 
the taxation of the oil-fields, and many tens and 
hundreds of thousands of families depend for the 
whole or part of their income on the production of 
the valuable liquid. But the growth of the industry 
is largely due to foreign enterprise, and unless we 
consider the Tartars and Armenians as Russians 
we may say that Baku is prevalently a non-Russian 
undertaking. Among the more important firms I may 
mention the following: Nobel Brothers (the Nobels 
are Swedes who have become Russian subjects), the 
Caspian and Black Sea Naphtha and Trading Com- 
pany (Messrs. Rothschild), the Russian Petroleum 
and Liquid Fuel Co. (English), the Baku Russian 
Petroleum Co. (ditto, known as the B. O. R. N.), 
Shibaieff (ditto), the European Petroleum Co. (ditto), 
the Bibi Eybat Co. (ditto), Suchastniki (Anglo- 


18 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


Dutch), Mantasheff (Armenian), the Caspian Co. 
(ditto, Messrs. Gukassoff), the Moscow and Cau- 
casian Co. (ditto), the Aramazd (ditto), the Baku 
Naphtha Industrial Co. (Russian), the Russian 
Naphtha Co. (ditto), the Russian Naphtha Indus- 
trial Co. (ditto). The industry is a wildly speculative 
one. To dig a well is a very expensive operation—it 
may cost 410,000 or more, and you may never strike 
oil at all. Large fortunes have been made or lost in 
a few weeks. 

The whole population of Baku, including the Bailoff 
promontory, the White Town, the oil-fields, and the 
neighbouring villages, amounted before the disturb- 
ances to over 200,000. It is an extremely mixed 
population, composed of almost every race of East 
and West, and is divided as follows: 74,000 Russians 
(immigrants from all parts of Russia who only stay a 
short time at Baku), 56,000 Tartars (natives of the 
town and district), 25,000 Armenians (natives and 
immigrants from all parts of the Armenian world), 
18,000 Persians (mostly immigrants for a short time), 
6,000 Jews, 4,000 Kazan Tartars, 3,800 Lezghins, 
2,600 Georgians, 5,000 Germans, 1,500 Poles, and 
many other nationalities numbering less than 1,000 
each. It will be seen by these figures that a very 
large part of the population is fluctuating, and that 
only a small proportion can be set down as native or 
permanent. Of the latter the Tartars form the great 
majority ; they own by far the greater part of the 
land and house property, including the soil where 
several of the oil properties are situated, whence they 
derive large incomes in royalties and ground rents. 


BAKU AND THE ARMENO-TARTAR FEUD 187 


The trade of Baku, especially the shipping trade, is 
wholly in Tartar hands, and M. Taghieff, who laid the 
foundations of his fortune by selling a plot of petro- 
liferous land, owns a whole fleet of steamers; the 
money-lenders are also all Tartars. But in spite of 
their wealth and the business ability of a few of them, 
the great majority are mere primitive savages. To 
the Armenians above all is the development of Baku 
due, for they were the first to work the oil-fields on a 
large scale and on modern lines; they perform a large 
part of the skilled labour, and among them most of 
the managers, engineers, as well as many capitalists, 
are to be found. The British public supplied a con- 
siderable share of the capital invested, and there are 
several Englishmen and other foreigners in prominent 
positions. The roughest unskilled work (chornaya 
yabota) is performed by the Tartars, Lezghins, and 
Persians ; the skilled work by the Armenians and 
Russians ; the management by Armenians, Russians, 
and foreigners. Lately, since the disorders, many of 
the Armenian and Tartar workmen fled, and there 
has been a considerable influx of Russians in con- 
sequence. 

The rivalry between the Armenians and the Tartars 
is of ancient date, and differs little from the general 
rivalry of the two races in other parts of the Caucasus. 
The Tartars have always considered Baku as a Tar- 
tar city. The Tartar khans have ruled it for cen- 
turies, the great bulk of the native population of the 
whole province is Tartar, and the general character of 
the country until the recent influx of foreigners was 
mainly Tartar and Mohammedan. But the Armenians, 


188 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


with their superior education, their greater intelligence 
and push, have acquired an increasing influence in the 
town and the industry, and have edged the Tartars 
out of many professions. There are only two small 
Tartar oil firms, although many Tartars are interested 
in the business. At Baku, where they are numerically 
inferior, the Armenians form a majority on the town 
council, as the law does not allow the non-Christian 
races to have more than half the seats on _ local 
bodies. Even in competition with foreigners the 
Armenians hold their own, for while their interests on 
the naphtha industry are only 35 per cent. of the total, 
they are represented by five members out of seven on 
the Sovzet Szezd (council of naphtha producers). There 
are also no Tartars on the Bourse Committee. 

One fact which struck me very forcibly during my 
stay at Baku was the extreme bitterness of the foreign 
element against the Armenians ; its sympathies, save 
in two or three instances, seemed wholly on the side 
of the Tartars. This attitude, I confess, impressed 
me at the time, and having come to the Caucasus 
with an open mind, I became inclined to believe that 
the sufferings of the Armenians had been grossly 
exaggerated by the European Press, and that the 
Tartars were a much-maligned people. While a 
man like Agaieff, on whom I called, was able to 
make out a good case for the Tartars, Englishmen, 
Russians, and other outsiders were almost unani- 
mous in their condemnation of the Armenians. Even 
the common Russian soldiers and policemen, when 
questioned as to who was to blame for the troubles, 
replied unhesitatingly, ‘‘Armiane.” Ina place where 


BAKU AND THE ARMENO-TARTAR FEUD 189 


racial and religious animosities have reached a white 
heat it is very difficult to arrive at a fair estimate 
of the rights and wrongs of a controversy, and one 
naturally tends to trust in the judgment of foreigners 
who know the country well but should be free from 
bias. But on closer investigation I could not help 
coming to the conclusion that the foreigners were by 
no means so impartial as they at first appeared. 
Quite apart from the greater personal charm of the 
Moslem over the Armenian, the views of foreign 
financiers and managers are greatly influenced by 
the fact that they are in close commercial competition 
with the Armenians. If it were not for them the 
foreigners would soon have got the whole oil industry 
into their own hands, instead of being obliged to 
compete with capable, business-like, and energetic 
rivals. At the same time the Armenian workmen 
are much less tractable than the Tartars. They 
demand better food and higher wages, more com- 
fortable lodgings, baths, reading-rooms, &c., whereas 
the Tartars are content with anything that is given 
them. The Armenians belong to workmen’s societies, 
and if they do not get what they want they organize 
strikes, and even take part in revolutionary move- 
ments. The Baku strikes in the summer of 1903 
are a case in point. With the Tartars, once you 
have their own chiefs and the Russian authorities on 
your side, you can do anything; but with the Arme- 
nians you must be careful. The latter, being 
politically more advanced than the Tartars, are 
more exacting. Then, since the Government in- 
stituted persecutions against them and their Church, 


190 E AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 

they in lulged in political agitation, which, if not 
primarily directed against the capitalists, did cause 
them loss by disturbing the general conditions of the 
town. This explains the attitude of the foreigners, and 
accounts for their bitterness against the Armenians. 
One prominent Englishman said to me that he would 


be glad to see the v menian nation wiped out! 
He accused them conceivable crime, of 
having been the cause whole trouble, of being 
at the bottom of evi 1 utionary agitation, and 
even of having atte, own life. The evidence 


adduced in support uw: se’ targes was, I am bound 
to say, quite Caucasian i ts inconclusiveness, and I 
have never subsequently come on a particle of proof 
of their truth from any source. 

So much for the general situation at Baku. The 
account of the outbreaks I shall reserve for the 
next chapter. 


Baku, Cossack Parrot on TH Quay. 


a 


Baku, Tue Orrician REWDENCE oF THE GoveRNoR-GENERAL. 
To face page 191. 


CHAPTER X 
BLOODSHED AND FIRE IN THE OIL CITY 
* Gyre-circling Spirits of Fire ” 


HE story of the various Baku outbreaks has 

been told in the Press,* but the accounts have 
been fragmentary and often inaccurate, so that I 
think it advisable to set forth the events in their 
proper order. The Baku jogromy form part of the 
bloody drama of Armeno-Tartar hostility, and in- 
deed, the February massacre was the first occasion 
on which the two races actually fought on a large 
scale. But they are also part of that wider feud 
between modern ideas and Asiatic barbarism which 
is in progress all over the East and in Russia itself. 
The struggle for freedom now being fought in the 
Tzar’s dominions is but a conflict between the Asiatic 
and medizval autocracy and latter-day progress. 

It is not easy to obtain reliable information when 
passions have been roused to such a pitch of savagery 
as at Baku, and one needs to be very careful in sifting 

* Mr. Henry, in his Baku, tells the story of the Baku troubles 


with much detail, but since he wrote fresh facts have come to my 
notice modifying some of his statements. 
191 


192 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


the vast mass of evidence supplied to the inquiring 
stranger, all of it from more or less prejudiced sources, 
and to clear the ground of false charges and absurd 
exaggerations. In the first place a few dates must be 
established so as to make the sequence of events clear. 
In July, 1903, strikes broke out among the Russian 


and Armenian wo he oil-fields—strikes which 
were mainly ecore t had a political arriéve 
pensée, as was th other strikes that year 
in various part: They marked, indeed, the 
beginnings « onary movement. Some 
derricks had been ire, and the general state 
of Baku was gir or grave anxiety ; General 
Odintzoff was .. ‘ vernor. In August the 


Assistant-Minister of the Interior, General von 
Wahl, arrived to inquire into the situation. 

Prince Golytzin, who had been busy carrying out 
his anti-Armenian policy, had a few weeks before 
executed the confiscation of the Church property ; 
in October his life was attempted. Early in 1904 
Prince Nakashidze, a Georgian noble, who as Vice- 
Governor of Erivan had been actively implicated in 
the said confiscation, was appointed Governor of 
Baku. His arrival coincided with a recrudescence 
of Armeno-Tartar hostility, and an outbreak seemed 
imminent at that time, so that many Armenians sent 
their families away from the town. In July, 1904, 
Prince Golytzin left the Caucasus for good and went 
to St. Petersburg. Towards the end of the year 
Prince Nakashidze was summoned to the capital, 
where he had several conferences with his former chief, 
and subsequently returned to Baku. Excitement in the 


Rage. A Qoier Deri wern a Sonnien ox rir Box. 


Bit Eveat On Fieuos. Tue Ruins, 


To face page 193. 


BLOODSHED AND FIRE IN THE OIL CITY 198 


oil city and the hatred of the two races increased, and 
the Governor did nothing to reconcile them. On the 
contrary, he was perpetually talking of an Armeno- 
Tartar pogrom as imminent ; he openly encouraged 
the Tartars, and treated the Armenians with marked 
coldness. When a deputation of Armenians came to 
express their fears and ask him for protection, his 
only reply was, “Do not you shoot and no one will 
shoot at you.”* In the meanwhile a number of 
murders of Armenians, attributed to Tartars, had 
been committed in the Shemakhinka street, and, on 
the other hand, several mutilated corpses of Tartars, 
supposed to have been murdered by Armenians, 
were discovered under the snow which had just 
melted away. There is a strong presumption that 
the police was at the bottom of these affairs, which 
it had instigated with a view to promoting Tartar- 
Armenian hatred, but I cannot say whether the 
suspicion is well-founded. The authorities were per- 
petually telling the Tartars that the Armenians were 
meditating a massacre of Mussulmans, and _ that 
they should be on the guz veve. Early in February 
a Tartar shopkeeper named Gashum Beg, who had 
assaulted several Armenian boys and girls, was 
attacked by an Armenian and wounded, but he 
succeeded in killing his assailant. He was sub- 
sequently arrested, and as he was trying to escape 
a soldier of the escort, also an Armenian, shot him 
dead.t The assailant proved to be a member of the 


* Senator Kuzminsky’s report on the February outbreak. 
+ According to a Tartar version the soldier whispered to Gashum 
Beg that if he tried to escape he would be allowed to get away, and 


13 


194 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS | 


revolutionary committee, but the Armenians deny 
that that association ordered him to kill Gashum 
Beg, and state that he had been deputed to do so 
by the family of one of the boys he had assaulted. 
A relative of Gashum Beg’s, a rich Tartar named 
Babaieff, determined, according to the Tartar 
custom of vendetta, to avenge him, and a few days 
later tried to shoot an Armenian in the courtyard 
of the church, who had been pointed out to him as 
the man who had killed Gashum Beg ; but he failed, 
and in the éwseute which ensued, another Armenian 
killed him. This deed caused great excitement in 
the town, and Prince Nakashidze summoned some 
Armenian journalists to his Chancery, and delivered 
them a long discourse on the dangers of an Armeno- 
Tartar pogrom. He declared that if the Tartars did 
rise against the Armenians he would. be powerless to 
defend them, as he had not enough troops, and the 
police were unreliable, many of them being Tartars. 
In fact one of the said Armenians told me that parts 
of this speech corresponded almost word for word 
with the report which the Governor made after the 
massacre, which suggests that he had foreseen the 
whole affair. 

The body of Babaieff was carried in procession 
through the Tartar quarter, and exposed to view. 
Had Prince Nakashidze wished to prevent trouble 
he would have stopped the procession; the sight 
of the murdered man roused the Moslems to fury, 
and on the 19th of February they proceeded to 


the moment he did so fired on him. The Armenians say that the 
idea of escape was not suggested. 


BLOODSHED AND FIRE IN THE OIL CITY 195 


massacre every Armenian they came across. The 
Armenians defended themselves as best they could, 
but the Tartars were much more numerous and 
better armed. The authorities remained absolutely 
passive, and to the frenzied appeals for help which 
Prince Nakashidze was constantly receiving from 
hard-pressed Armenians besieged in their own 
houses, he replied that he had no troops and could 
do nothing, although as a matter of fact he had 
2,000 men. He was seen driving about the town 
openly encouraging the Tartars, and slapping them 
on the back ; and on one occasion, happening to see 
some too officious soldiers disarming a Tartar, he 
ordered them to give the man back his rifle, which 
of course they did! M. Adamoff, one of the richest 
Armenians in Baku, was besieged for three days in 
his own house, and being a first-rate shot he killed a 
number of his assailants with his own hand; at last 
he and his son were shot dead, the Tartars set fire 
to the house, rushed in and butchered all the inmates. 
A similar fate befell Lalaieff, another rich Armenian, 
who defended himself until ammunition gave out, 
after which his house was burnt and the whole house- 
hold killed. To his appeals for help the Governor 
made no reply, but came himself when all was over. 
At last on the fourth day, when both sides were 
exhausted, the Jogrom came to an end, after some 
300 to 400 people had been killed.* The Tartar 
Sheikh-ul-Islam arrived from Tiflis and paraded the 
town in company with the Armenian bishop, and a 


* According to the official accounts the Armenians killed were 
218, the Tartars 126 ; possibly the numbers were somewhat larger. 


! 


19% [RE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


sort of peace was patched up. The Sheikh-ul-Islam, 
a worthy, well-meaning old man, but without much 
influence over the more turbulent elements of his 
people, preached a peace sermon in the Armenian 
cathedral, while the bishop preached in a similar 
strain in the mosque. The cooler heads on both 
sides were beginning to see that the chief respon- 
sibility lay with the Government, but the race hatred 
was now so bitter that no lasting reconciliation was 
possible. 

For some months things remained comparatively 
quiet, although isolated murders were very frequent. 
Both Armenians and Tartars armed themselves, but 
the former did so on a larger scale, for they had had 
such experience of the Government's hostility that 
they felt they now had only themselves to rely on. 
The revolutionary committee displayed great zeal in 
collecting money both from the Armenians and the 
foreign firms who paid it blackmail, and in smug- 
gling arms and explosives into the town from 
Moscow. The Tartars, thinking themselves secure 
in the Government's favour, were less active. An 
official inquiry into the outbreak was conducted by 
Senator Kuzminsky, but its findings were not pub- 
lished until early in this year, and none of the guilty 
were punished. The Armenians, however, took 
vengeance into their own hands, and on May 24th 
Prince Nakashidze was blown up by a bomb. As for 
his own guilt in this matter there can, I think, be no 
doubt whatever. The direct responsibility of Prince 
Golytzin is more questionable, for he had left the 
Caucasus several months before the Baku outbreak ; 


Avrer THE Fires at Bist Evsat, 


Baxu, Ruixep Derricks at Bist Evat, 


To face page 197. 


’ 


BLOODSHED AND FIRE IN THE OIL CITY 197 


but the troubles were unquestionably the direct out- 
come of his own policy, and he may have given 
suggestions to Prince Nakashidze when the latter 
was in the capital. 

The impunity of the Baku massacres encouraged 
the Tartars in other parts of the country. An 
account of the outbreak at Nakhitchevan, which 
was the outcome of the Baku disturbance, will be 
given in another Chapter. In the summer things 
began to appear critical at Shusha, a town of 35,000 
inhabitants, situated high up among the mountains of 
the Elizavetpol Government. The population is 
equally divided between Tartars and Armenians, the 
latter occupying the upper part of the town. The 
fighting in other places was producing dangerous 
excitement also at Shusha, although a conciliation 
committee had been formed, which managed to keep 
things quiet for some time. About the middle of 
July a number of Armenians, travelling in omnibuses 
between Ievlakh (a station on the Tiflis-Baku line) 
and Shusha, were set upon by Tartars and plundered. 
The Shusha revolutionary committee and the more 
violent elements of the Armenians urged that it was 
now time to attack the Tartars, but for a few weeks 
more peaceful councils prevailed, although both sides 
were preparing for the struggle. 

Throughout August fresh collisions occurred be- 
tween members of the two races along the lIevlakh- 
Shusha road, especially in the neighbourhood of 
Agdam. On the zoth a Tartar was murdered at 
Shusha, for which the Armenians were held respon- 
sible, and on the same day a fight occurred at Vank. 


RE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


On th 2oth three Armenians were murdered near 
Sht _, and at midday another came into the town 
shown ‘the wounds inflicted on him by the Tartars. 
In the afternoon firing on a large scale began, which 
appea to have been started by the Armenians. An 


attemp: is * — bout a meeting between 
the Armen :and a prominent Tartar 
named r and other notables of 
both commu yeace. But the meeting 
never took + side trusted the other. 
Shooting went itedly for three days, and 
on the 31st incei in. The Armenians set 
fire to the few 7 in their own quarter; the 


Tartars did the same to the Armenian quarter. A 
wind favoured the flames, and soon some four hundred 
houses, including all the best in the place, as well as 
the shops and the industrial establishments, were 
blazing ruins. The Armenian church of Akuliatz, 
which had been captured by the Tartars, was dese- 
crated in an unspeakable way and used as one of 
their chief strongholds. Thousands of armed and 
mounted Tartars flocked to Shusha from the neigh- 
bourhood, but the Armenians held a strong position 
commanding the chief road by which they came, and 
thus prevented most of them from entering the town. 
On the 1st of September a second attempt at con- 
ciliation was more successful, and it was arranged that 
a procession of members of both races, headed by 
Javat Aga and Bishop Ashost, should visit the Arme- 
nian quarter, and another, led by the Archimandrite 
Ter-Mikelian, the Tartar Casi, and the Russian 
Vice-Governor of Elizavetpol, who had just arrived, 


BLOODSHED AND FIRE IN THE OIL CITY 199 


should visit the Tartar quarter. But although this 
programme was duly carried out, firing recommenced 
that same night with redoubled fury. The Tartars 
determined to destroy the Armenian quarter and 
attacked it vigorously, but the Armenians replied 
with a heavy fire, threw some bombs, and even pro- 
duced an old cannon, which burst after a few shots, 
but caused great consternation among the assailants. 
The Vice-Governor then appealed to the Tartars, 
“not as an official, but as a man and their guest,” to 
put an end to the bloodshed. On the 2nd the 
Moslem chiefs sent a messenger to the Armenians, 
and finally a peace conference was held at the Russian 
church. Tartars and Armenians publicly embraced 
one another and swore eternal friendship—until next 
time. Prisoners were exchanged, as between pro- 
perly constituted belligerents. The number of killed 
and wounded amounted to about 300, of whom two- 
thirds were Tartars, for the Armenians were better 
shots and also enjoyed the advantage of position. 
The damage is estimated at from 4,000,000 to 
5,000,000 roubles. The troops, of whom 350 were 
available, seem to have done nothing at all while 
the fighting was going on, but the military band 
performed to celebrate the conciliation! 

The news of the Shusha fighting spread all over 
the country, and increased the agitation at Baku, 
which was now to witness a replica on a larger scale 
of the February massacres. After the murder of 
Prince Nakashidze martial law was proclaimed, and a 
Governor-General * was appointed in the person of 


* The Russians apply the title of General-Gubiernator both to a 
Governor-General of an important region which includes several 


200 %E AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


General Fadeieff, the victor of Kars. The new 
Viceroy of the Caucasus was much better dis- 
posed towards the Armenians than his predecessor, 
and the Church property had now been restored. 
But many of the minor officials and police were still 
Golytzin’s creatures, and at Baku the authorities 
refused to recognize th nger of the situation. 
Only a few days before tne September outbreak 


General Fadeieff wu 4 © permits to carry arms, 
and whenacomn | «= producers called on him 
to represent the seriousa ‘the situation and to ask 


for protection, his Exct :y complacently replied 
that everything would go 1 f quietly, and that all 
was for the best in the I st of all possible Bakus. 
General Fadeieff is not accused of having promoted 
the second outbreak, nor of having encouraged the 
Tartars, but he took no precautions to prevent 
trouble, although the garrison had been increased to 
6,000 men. 

The Social-Democrats, chiefly Russian workmen, 
now began to agitate again and make insistent 
demands for political liberty and economic improve- 
ments. The Armenian and Socialist committees 
worked apart, but they both had a common desire 
for a constitutional Government. The Armenian 
workmen were also demanding improvements in the 
conditions of labour, and their committees, although 
primarily political, voiced these demands. About the 
end of August a tramway strike broke out and the 


governments (gud:ernia), such as Poland, Finland, or the North- 
West provinces, and to a military governor appointed to carry out 
martial law. 


BLOODSHED AND FIRE IN THE OIL CITY 201 


service was suspended for a few days. Then by 
order of the Governor-General it was resumed, and 
soldiers were placed on the cars for protection. The 
strikers made a demonstration, a few shots were 
fired, and some Tartars were hit by accident. Further 
firing on a larger scale broke out in other parts of 
the town on the 2nd of September. The Tartar and 
Armenian quarters were now separated, as I said 
before, by a row of empty houses, so that Baku was 
divided into two armed camps. Fighting soon 
became more general, and a few houses were set on 
fire. But nothing very serious occurred in Baku 
itself, for General Fadeieff, once the disorders had 
actually broken out, did his best to stop them, and 
his troops prevented the Tartar villagers, who had 
assembled in great numbers outside, from coming into 
the town. 

Far worse was the situation on the oil-fields. 
Large bodies of Tartars, as soon as the news of the 
Baku fighting arrived, gathered together and con- 
ferred with their chiefs at Balakhany and Ramany, 
where they were joined by others from the villages. * 
The Armenians, expecting an attack, concentrated in 
certain positions. During the night the Tartars set 
fire to the Armenian oil properties at Balakhany and 
Ramany ; the derricks, being of wood and impreg- 
nated with naphtha, burnt like tinder, and the 
adjoining buildings were soon in flames. The fires 
also spread to other non-Armenian properties, and 
soon a huge cloud of smoke hung like a pall over the 


* There are several Tartar villages on the Apsheron Peninsula 
among the oil-fields, and others just outside. 


202 2E AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 

oil-fie , with tongues of fire darting up from the 
burning derricks. Desperate fighting took place 
wherever Tartars and Armenians met, but this time 
the former did not have such an easy job as in 
February. The attack on the Armenians at the 
Baku Naphtha Producers’ Association was beaten 


back with loss, a s of Tartars were shot 
down by the Cossacks at the Va Wotan works. 
More fighting occur: 5th near the Sabuntchy 
hospital, where 2,! ans and some Cossacks 
were collected, but it of a very serious nature. 
Numbers of isolate ins were caught by the 
Tartars while tryii >» ipe and shot or cut to 
pieces. Some were | to leave their hiding 


places by promises of safety, and then brutally mur- 
dered. At the Melikoff works several Armenians 
who had taken refuge in a house were burnt to death 
with kerosene pumped in by the Tartars. No quarter 
was given on either side, and neither age nor sex 
was spared. But amid these deeds of savage cruelty 
there shine also deeds of magnificent heroism. The 
way in which some Armenians brought women and 
children to places of safety or got water and pro- 
visions for the besieged under a heavy fire was 
beyond all praise. Three Englishmen were besieged 
at Zabrat several days, until relieved by the British 
Vice-Consul, Mr. Leslie Urquhart ; but their danger 
was, of course, much less than that of the Armenians, 
for the Tartars had no feeling against any foreigners. 

In the meanwhile fighting and incendiarism had 
broken out on the Bibi Eybat oil-fields. The Pitoieff, 
Mantasheff, and other Armenian properties were 


CemErexy. 


Baxo. Conrsxs iv THE 


Photo,by a Baku Photographer, 


BLOODSHED AND FIRE IN THE OIL CITY 203 


set alight, and the properties of the English firms 
“Oleum” and B. O. R. N. were alsodamaged. As the 
waterworks buildings were on fire it was impossible 
to put out the flames, and the detachments of 
Cossacks and sailors from the Caspian flotilla were 
unable to keep the Tartars in check. Several vessels 
full of armed Tartars appeared off the coast, but most 
of them were prevented from landing; one of these 
ships was said to have come from Persia. The 
slaughter at Bibi Eybat was much less than at 
Balakhany, and only a few Armenians were murdered. 
Various properties were invaded by Tartars, but most. 
of the Armenians, who were not numerous, succeeded 
in escaping. 

At last reinforcements began to arrive from Tiflis 
and Rostoff, and artillery was got into position, both 
in the oil-fields and in the town; the troops acted 
with considerable energy, greatly to the disgust of the 
Tartars, who expected to find them on their side, or 
at all events that they should remain neutral. The 
Governor-General issued a decree that if shots were 
fired from any house it was to be instantly demolished 
with cannon. Order was thus gradually restored, 
although excitement was still so high that it was 
doubted whether it was not merely a lull before 
anew storm. The total number of killed amounted 
to about 600, and the tale of murders continued 
with undiminished vigour even after things had 
quieted down. As usual the authorities committed 
many mistakes, which tended to increase rather 
than allay the disturbances. A large house, in which 
the British and Italian Vice-Consulates and a number 


204 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


of offices and apartments are, was riddled with shots 
simply on a vague rumour, which afterwards proved 
untrue, that somebody had fired a revolver from one 
of its windows. When an Armeno- Tartar reconcilia- 
tion committee called on the Governor-General with 
a view toconcerting measures for peace, he kept them 
for nearly two hours talking about his own exploits 
at the siege of Kars! Throughout the whole affair 
it was clear that the authorities did not really control 
the situation, and they could only pray for the recon- 
ciliation of the belligerents. They expected that 
Tartars and Armenians should make peace while they 
stood by to see fair play, but they were almost always 
incapable of punishing infractions of the agreement, 
so that public order came to be dependent on the 
wishes of the two races. 

When I arrived at Baku the flames had burnt 
themselves out, and fighting had ceased. Over 
10,000 soldiers were in the town and immediate 
neighbourhood, and others were expected. No one 
was allowed out after 8 p.m., but every night shots 
were heard, and every morning fresh corpses were 
found. Some of the oil producers wished to re- 
commence work, but the precarious situation rendered 
this impossible. The Armenians dared not start from 
fear of the Tartars, and the Tartars from fear of the 
Armenians ; many of the Russian and Persian work- 
men had fled in terror, and those who remained 
refused to return to the oil-fields unless they were 
properly protected. Both the Armenian and the 
Russian revolutionary committees issued proclama- 
tions stating that work must not recommence until 


BLOODSHED AND FIRE IN THE OIL CITY 205 


the lives of the men were guaranteed and their general 
conditions improved. The Armenian committee, 
indeed, threatened to murder all the managers who 
should start work before these demands were com- 
plied with. The English were particularly incensed 
at these threats, and one of them actually accused 
the Armenian oil producers of having inspired 
the menaces because, being themselves unable to 
begin work, they did not wish their foreign compett- 
tors to get ahead of them. I could not obtain any 
evidence as to the truth of this preposterous charge. 
On the other hand, the Armenian paper, the Paks, 
made equally wild accusations against some English 
managers, who, they said, had handed over their 
Armenian employees to the Tartars, lest the latter 
should set fire to the properties. Every day there 
was some fresh excitement, meetings of revolutionary 
committees and of industrial associations, threats, 
charges and counter-charges, wild rumours, arrests, 
discoveries of bombs, threatening proclamations, 
violent articles in the Baku and the Kasfz2z, and 
general panic. 

I visited the premises of several oil companies at 
Bibi Eybat soon after the fires, and the spectacle 
presented simply defies description. The road from 
Baku to the oil-fields is flanked by a series of low 
sheds, workmen’s cottages, and small shops. On 
nearing Bibi Eybat the derricks begin to appear— 
curious pyramid-shaped wooden towers. A few larger 
buildings mark the entrance to the various oil proper- 
ties. On entering the first of these a most appalling 
scene of destruction met my eyes. Out of the 200 

é 


206 RE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


derrii of Bibi Eybat, 118 had been destroyed, and 
the m jority of the other buildings were heaps of 
black r ins. The whole area was covered with débris 
and wreckage, thick iron bars snapped asunder like 
sticks, or twisted by the fire into the shape of coiled-up 
serpents and fantastic monsters; great sheets of iron 


torn to shreds; had been paper, broken 
machinery, bla , fragments of cogged 
wheels, pistons ‘s, miles of steel wire 
ropes, all piled sst confusion, workmen’s 
barracks, office s-houses razed to the 
ground. Ever) 3 of thick-oozing naphtha 
flowed down c med slimy pools of dull 
greenish liquid; tne w: osphere was charged with 


the smell of oil. A few workmen were going about 
trying to clear away some of the rubbish, or find bits 
of iron-work that might be of use. It was more 
like some frightful nightmare than a reality. 

Yet when one comes to inquire into the actual 
damages they do not seem to be quite so enormous as 
one would think, or as they were at first estimated. 
The earliest reports put the figure at £15,000,000 ; 
subsequent estimates reduced it to 10,000,000, 
45,000,000, £ 3,000,000; and now, according to the 
most reliable, it cannot much exceed £2,000,000 or 
42,500,000. Of this amount a little over one-tenth 
represents the English losses. Outsiders unacquainted 
with the conditions of the industry imagined that once 
the oil wells were set alight they went on burning until 
the whole of the underground deposit was consumed. 
But as a matter of fact nothing of the kind could 
possibly happen. The oil has to be extracted from a 


90g abot sons oF 


‘as0uNg,1 2a TALOH{ AHL TAISING NAWRIOM NVINAMYY “AXE (NENONIOM VLA, “aNvg 


BLOODSHED AND FIRE IN THE OIL CITY 207 


considerable depth—s5oo to 1,500 feet—so that only 
what is actually on the surface can burn at all. Of 
course all the woodwork of the derricks burnt very 
easily ; machinery and buildings were thus destroyed, 
and the huge naphtha and kerosene reservoirs were also 
burnt. The greater part of the capital invested in the 
oil trade is spent in sinking the wells, and so of course 
is not lost. Much of the machinery too was old and 
obsolete, and would have had to be scrapped in any 
Case in a year or two, so that its destruction was a less 
serious loss than one might think. Far graver was 
that caused by the cessation of production, for with 
the anarchy then prevailing it was impossible to do 
anything for some months, and even now the produc- 
tion is less than it is in normal times.* Dearth of 
labour is one of the chief difficulties; the workmen 
demand higher wages and that their lives should be 
insured, for which heavy premiums must be paid. 
Even so it is very hard to get men to come at all. 
The whole industry has been thrown on its beam ends, 
and it requires drastic remedies to be replaced on a 
satisfactory basis once more. If the Government 
were in a position to guarantee order, prosperity could 
be restored to Baku in a very short time. The large 
oil producers can afford to wait until things improve, 
and no doubt by raising the price of oil they can more 
than recoup themselves for their losses apart from any 


* Practically there was no production in September and October ; 
in November work recommenced, but on a small scale, and the 
railway strikes in that month and in December again paralyzed 
the industry. In January 30,000,000 puds were produced against 
50,000,000 per month in normal times. 


208 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 
compensation they may get from the Government. But 
the smaller zndustrie/s and the shareholders are in sore 


straits, and many who were comparatively rich men 
are now ruined. 


CHAPTER XI 
THE LAND OF ARARAT 


NTIL a few years ago the only railway of 
importance in Transcaucasia was the trunk line 

across the isthmus from Baku to Batum. But in 1902 
a new and important line was completed going from 
Tiflis in a southerly direction. It had two main 
objects, one wholly strategic, the other partly strategic 
and partly economic. The first was to establish rail- 
way connection with the fortress of Kars, Russia’s 
advanced post towards Asia Minor ; the other was the 
‘‘ peaceful penetration” of Persia. The Kars branch 
was completed first; the Persian frontier has been 
reached only a few months ago. The new route is an 
interesting one in many ways. It passes through 
some of the most beautiful scenery in the Caucasus ; 
at its culminating point it is higher than any railway in 
Europe, and is indeed one of the highest in existence ; 
it traverses the high tableland of Armenia, which is 
historically one of the most interesting countries in the 
world ; it skirts the foot of Mount Ararat, the view of 
which is worth the whole journey from London to 
Erivan ; and lastly it takes us to the Persian border, 

14 208 


210 | ‘Ef AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


and v | eventually be the means of opening up 
Northern Persia to Western influences. 

The distance from Tiflis to Erivan is 352 versts, or 
about 230 miles, but the train takes sixteen hours to 
cover it. Russian railways are proverbially slow, the 


Caucasian lines ~~~ ~“- ~'--vest in Russia, and the 
Tiflis-Erivan rest in the Caucasus. 
For the first : line descends the Kura 
valley and thei as to the south towards 
the mountain rai ig the Armenian plateau. 
We enter the | rge of Sambak in which 
the train is e1 any hours. The steep 
hillsides are wen ith splendid forests now 


ablaze with the most u at hues of autumn, and 
the swirling Dabeda Chai roars down below. The 
villages are few and far between, but there are on 
every hill-top and in every open space remains of 
old castles and picturesque monasteries and churches, 
in some places of whole towns, for this country, now 
so thinly inhabited, was once highly civilized and well 
populated. There is something attractively mysterious 
about these forgotten lost cities, half buried in the 
forest ; they must have .witnessed many a scene of 
dramatic horror, for horrible Caucasian history has 
ever been, a record of fierce fighting, savage passions, 
black treachery, blind fanaticism, sublime heroism, 
always ending in blood and destruction, from the 
earliest times down to the present day, and the 
Caucasian book of blood is not closed yet—far 
from it. 

At Karakliss the gorge opens out into more smiling 
scenery ; there is bright sunlight on the woods, and 


THE LAND OF ARARAT 211 


gleaming streams, and cool greensward. Under a 
more civilized and progressive régzme this spot would 
have soon been turned into a pleasant Awvort for the 
people of burning Tiflis to fly to in August, with 
hotels, villas, shops, and bands. As it is there is 
nothing but a small village and some cottages where 
rooms are let in the summer. The state of security 
leaves much to be desired ; brigandage flourishes, and 
a few days after I passed through, a train was held 
up and a large sum of money carried away. From 
Karakliss a road leads to Delijan and on to Lake Gok 
Chai, the largest and most beautiful in the Caucasus. 
The line now ascends still steeper heights, and vege- 
tation on the mountain slopes soon disappears. As we 
proceed southwards the Armenian type and costume 
becomes more and more predominant. 

The stations are built of stone and seem to be of 
extraordinary solidity. At one of them I got out to 
take a photograph of a picturesque group of blue- 
clad, fur-capped Armenians. They were pleased and 
amused by my performance, but when I returned to 
my compartment, I was followed by a gendarme. 
Very politely and deferentially he asked me what I 
was photographing; I replied with truth that I had 
been snapping Armzanshie tepy. 

‘‘ But photographing is forbidden on this line.” 

“Why?” I asked. 

‘I do‘not know, but I suppose for some political 
reason.” 

‘Tl am very sorry, but I did not know.” 

‘Will you give me the plate ?” 

‘“ Alas!” I replied, ‘‘ but I have no plates.” (I only 


212 RE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


used films.) That was quite beyond him. He did not 
know what péionéi (films) were. I tried to explain: 
“It is absolutely impossible for me to take out that 
film until I have finished the whole twelve, and I am 
only at No. 5.” 


“Very well; —" —— **-dly tell me your name, 
your father’s na wfession, your nationality, 
your habitual « you are going, and what 
hotel youy 

I supplied hich were duly set down 
in a notebook liformed gentleman kept 
under his cap; ited and retired, and I 
heard no more of 1 The real reason of the 


prohibition is no doupt wie fact that the Tiflis-Kars 
line is a strategic railway and is treated as though it 
were a continuous fortress ; no objections were raised 
to my taking photos on the Alexandropol-Erivan- 
Nakhitchevan branch. This was my first and only 
collision with the celebrated Russian police during the 
whole of my tour. It was typical of Russian methods 
that my violation of the law should have had no 
consequences. In Germany if a thing is strengsten 
verboten it really is verboten, and woe to the man who 
disregards the warning. But the Russian equivalent, 
strogo vospreshtchaietsta is a much milder prohibition, 
and if you talk nicely to the guardians of the law, or 
are a stranger, or a celebrity, or ready to pay a small 
bribe, you may do what you like and have no further 
trouble. 

The train creeps up the mountain side, enters a long 
tunnel, in the middle of which is the highest point 
along the line (7,355 feet above the sea), and then 


ARMENIAN Tyras, 


(The Photo for which I was nearly arrested.) 


To face page 213, 


THE LAND OF ARARAT 213 


descends on to the Shirak plateau. We are now in 
the true Armenia, the original home of the Haik 
. people. On all sides we are encircled by a barrier of 
bare, forbidding rocks, but the valleys are to some 
extent cultivated. The air is delicious, and quite cold 
in the early morning, but it gets very hot in the middle 
of the day in spite of the great height and the season 
of the year—we are now at the beginning of October. 
Brown undulating plateaux, naked grey rocks piled up 
by volcanic action, patches of trees and grass, and 
fields of corn. Then suddenly through a gap in the 
nearer mountains, the blue-grey snow-capped summit 
of the Alagéz rises up 13,436 feet high. Besides 
Ararat it is the only mountain with eternal snows in 
Russian Armenia. By aseries of sharp curves the line 
descends to Alexandropol, a large town and fortress, 
which is the junction where the Kars and Erivan 
branches meet. I did not stop here on my way 
out but pushed on to Erivan. The landscape becomes 
ever broader and larger, as the vast rolling uplands 
spread out, an endless vista of golden earth, earth 
and atmosphere of that shimmering hue only seen in 
the East. Then suddenly through another break in 
the circle to the south we see right across the plain, 
and Ararat appears in all its glory. I have never seen 
such an imposing mountain before or since, in the 
Alps or in the Caucasus. It rises sheer up out of an 
immense plain, which forms an exquisite foreground 
like a rich Persian carpet, of green, brown, yellow 
and red grasses, wastes of golden sand, and oases of 
poplars and vineyards; the great mountain shows 
up like some airy structure of a dream, against the 


214 ‘E AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 

parched plain. The circle of heights framing the 
picture never rises to more than 10,000 feet, while 
Ararat is 16,916 and dominates them all. It is this 
isolation which makes it so magnificent. The great 
peaks of the Alps are surrounded by other peaks 
nearly as high; Mont Blanc is but primus inter 


pares, and even the tm of the Matterhorn is 
challenged by pow ds. But Ararat is an 
undisputed autoci | far above the pigmies 
around him, who 1 9 exalt and glorify him. 
For weeks I live this mighty giant ; every 
day he assumed a new sct, and I was never tired 


of feasting my eyes c si gly beauty. 

Ararat is formed ot two summits, unequal in height 
and different in form; Great Ararat, a vast, rounded 
mass, purply blue in colour, diaphanous and velvety in 
texture, surmounted by a magnificent dome of ice and 
snow, with glaciers creeping down the sides; and 
Little Ararat, a sharp peak only tipped with snow at 
the summit. Between the two is a deep depression, 
where the post of Sardar Bulagh (‘the Governor's 
Fountain”) is situated, the best point whence to 
begin the ascent. 

« But most of all,” writes Mr. H. F. B. Lynch, “as 
we realize the vision, which in the noblest shapes of 
natural architecture, the dome and the pyramid, fills 
the immense length of the southern horizon and soars 
above the landscape of the plain, the essential unity of 
the vast edifice and the correspondence of the parts 
between themselves are imprinted upon the mind. If 
Little Ararat, rising on the flank of the giant moun- 
tain, may recall, both in form and in position, the 


THE LAND OF ARARAT 215 


minaret which, beside the vault of a Byzantine temple, 
bears witness to a conflicting creed, this contrast is 
softened in the natural structure by the similarity of 
the processes which have produced the two neighbours, 
and by their intimate connection with one another as 
constituents in a single plan.” 

Ararat is of volcanic origin, and although as a 
volcano it is now extinct, there are vast deposits of 
hot water within its subterraneous hollows, and at 
times torrents of boiling mud have been ejected, 
dealing death and destruction to the villages on the 
mountain slopes. Earthquakes, too, are very fre- 
quent in this region, one of the most terrible being 
that of 1840, in which the Armenian village of 
Akhuri was completely destroyed. The halo of legend 
and historic tradition with which the mountain is 
surrounded invests it with mystic sanctity. The story 
of the Ark is still a living belief among the 
Armenian and Mohammedan races inhabiting the 
Ararat country; the Armenians, indeed, believe 
themselves to be the first race of men which grew 
up in the world after the Flood. The town of 
Nakhitchevan is said to have been founded by Noah 
immediately after leaving the Ark, and its name is 
supposed to mean ‘‘the first home.” The Persian 
name for Ararat, Koh-i-Nuh, means Noah’s moun- 
tain. Almost the whole history of the Armenian 
people centres round Mount Ararat, which stands 
now at the confines of the three great States— Russia, 
Persia, and Turkey—and was in the past the meeting- 
point of Persians, Turks, and Armenians. Its various 
names—Ararat meaning high, Masis or sublime—are 


216 } E AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


symbolical of the overpowering impression which it 
has always made on the people who dwelt in its 
shadow. 

On climbers, too, it has exercised a great fascina- 
tion, and has been ascended several times; the first 
ascent was by the German, Parrot, in 1829; Professor 
Abich ascended it in 1845, the Russian General 
Khodzko in 1850, and remained five days on the 
summit in order to carry out a survey. Mr. James 
Bryce and Mr. H. F. D. Lynch are among the best- 
known English climbers who achieved the feat. It 
is said not to be a very difficult climb for an experi- 
enced mountaineer, but it is extremely long and 
tiring. 

Towards evening I reached Erivan, the terminus 
of one branch of the line (the Nakhitchevan-Djulfa 
branch starts off from a station before Erivan). Im- 
mediately on my arrival I felt that there was some- 
thing up. There was excitement among the station 
officials, agitated soldiers and gendarmes were rushing 
about, and I had considerable difficulty in pro- 
curing a vehicle. I drove towards the town (the 
station, as is usual in Russia, is several miles outside), 
and on two occasions I found the way blocked by 
patrols, so that the cab had to make a detour. On 
demanding the reason I was told that there was an 
Armeno-Tartar disturbance. At last the inn was 
reached—the Hétel d’Orient. Here a crowd of 
soldiers, policemen, Cossacks, and others were 
gathered, and two sentries with fixed bayonets 
stood on guard at the door. This was due to the 
presence of Prince Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, who 


To face paye 217. 


THE LAND OF ARARAT 217. 


had been nominated Governor-General of Erivan 
since the previous June. As his appointment was 
only a temporary one he had no fixed residence, but 
was staying at the hotel. It was curious to see 
Russian military proclamations posted about the town 
bearing the signature ‘‘ Napoleon.” 

The whole town was in a state of tumult, as the 
Tartars and Armenians had begun fighting that very 
afternoon, and Prince Napoleon was busy restoring 
order. I had an introduction to an Armenian gentle- 
man, who was Inspector of Taxes, and I wished to 
call on him immediately, so as to learn something 
of the situation. I asked the hotel porter for his 
address, but was told that I could not go to the 
house, as I should have to pass through the Tartar 
quarter where fighting was still in progress. | 
tried to get a policeman to escort me, but without 
success; then I came on a group of peasants and 
townsmen going in that direction, and I followed 
them up the Akstafievskaya, the principal street of 
Erivan. I had not walked a hundred yards when 
a detachment of dragoons blocked the way. Expos- 
tulation was useless, as the soldiers began to ride their 
horses on to the side-walk, so I had to return to the 
inn. However, I managed to go out later, but the 
excitement was soon over, troops appeared everywhere 
at once, and artillery paraded the streets ostentatiously 
all night. A few shots were heard now and again, 
but by 8 p.m. the band was playing the ‘Cake 
Walk” and other cheerful music in the park, and the 
less timid part of the population went out to listen 
to the strains. 


218 1 E AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


For over a year the Erivan province had been in 
a state of ferment, first on account of the Kadter- 
Kampf between the Russian Government and the 
Armenian Church, and later on account of the 
Armeno-Tartar feud. While Prince Nakashidze was 
Vice-Governor there had been the beginning of an 


outbreak, but it came ng. There was a small 
pogrom in March, 1 a second on June 5th 
and 6th, in which people had been killed. 
A number of in Is and officials had tried 
in vain to ré ore intil Count Vorontzoff- 


Dashkoff commissionea «ce Napoleon, who had 
served for many years in the Russian army, and had 
recently been in command or the cavalry division at 
Tiflis, to take charge of the unruly district. His 
predecessors had, on the usual bureaucratic system, 
always done the wrong thing in the wrong way, and 
in their zeal to carry out Prince Golytzin’s policy, had 
made war on the Armenians and secretly encouraged 
the Tartars to attack them; then they found that the 
Tartars had got out of hand. Prince Napoleon acted 
differently, and exercised great severity in repressing 
outbursts, but also absolute impartiality. Since his 
arrival Erivan itself had been peaceful, but there had 
been trouble in the Zangezur district between Nak- 
hitchevan and Shusha. After the Shusha fighting 8,000 
Tartars, together with 1,200 Kurds of the Zang 
district, and 500 from over the Persian front 
attacked Gerussi and other Armenian villages. 
the 6th of September they had a sharp en 
with the Cossacks at Alikuliksend; a party 
sacks had gone to Minkend to protect the 


THE LAND OF ARARAT 219 


but on being assured by the Tartar mayor and the 
pristav that there was no danger, went to Khan- 
sovar, which was being attacked. As soon as they 
departed the Tartars fell on the Armenians, killing 140 
and wounding 40, before the eyes of the pristav, who 
did not interfere. Prince Napoleon made a rapid tour 
through the disturbed district, visiting Gerussi on 
September 13th, accompanied by a small mounted 
force, restored order for the time being, and wrote a 
report to the Viceroy, in which he stigmatized the 
Tartars and severely blamed several district governors 
and officials. He had now come back to Erivan, 
when the riots broke out here also, for the third time 
this year. 

It was the 1st of October, a Sunday, and being a 
fine day, numbers of Armenians had gone out to 
picnic in the vineyards outside the town and wile 
away the hot hours eating grapes and drinking wine. 
Unfortunately they imbibed too much strong liquor, 
became lively and reckless, and began to play with 
their rifles—no one dares venture outside the walls 
unarmed, roup of Tartars with a cart happened 
to be by, and the somewhat inebriated 
Armenii at them. One Tartar 
rely wounded, where- 
ig the dead man and 
Tartars never leave 
idered shameful that 
of the Faithful has 
n into Erivan and 
was done with that 
tacle aroused the 


220 } (‘E AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


Mohammedans to fury, and they determined to 
avenge their murdered brother by a general massacre 
of Armenians. At about five o'clock a number of 
them armed with revolvers and Ainja/s rushed down 
to the boulevard, a wide open space in the middle of 
the town, shaded with large forest trees, where 
Armenians were disporti) themselves peacefully in 


their best Sunday clo ignorant of what had 
occurred in the vin violent dispute between 
Tartars and Arme <e out, and insults and 
accusations were bat wut. A Tartar was the 


first to discharge his revol’ r, and then the fat was in 
the fire, and bullets began to ly in all directions, under 
the very windows of the hotel where Prince Napoleon 
was residing. The shooting must have been some- 
what wild, for although some fifty or sixty shots 
were fired, only half a dozen men seem to have been 
hit. In the meanwhile the sound of firing aroused 
the rest of the town, and wherever Tartars and 
Armenians met shots were exchanged, and several 
people were killed. The affair might have developed 
into a serious outbreak, accompanied by a heavy 
death-roll, but for the energy of Prince Napoleon. 
As soon as he heard the shots, and saw from his 
windows what was up, he called a couple of azdes-de- 
camp, descended into the street, and visited on foot 
all the parts of the town where there was fighting. 
He had, however, taken the preliminary precaution 
of issuing orders to his troops, ever since his arrival 
at Erivan, that the instant trouble broke out they 
were to occupy certain points of vantage, so that each 
detachment took up its prescribed position at once. 


Enivan, Ix THE BAZAR. 


To face page 220. 


THE LAND OF ARARAT 221 


The Prince inspected the infantry gathered in the 
square near the Russian Church, and delivered them 
a speech in which he ordered them to shoot any one 
whom they saw firing, or who, being armed, refused 
to give up his weapons at the first summons. ‘“ And 
when you shoot,” he concluded, “shoot to kill, and 
not merely to frighten.” The artillery was brought 
out with orders to demolish any house from which 
shots were fired, but its services were not needed. 
All night it rumbled about the streets, and this was 
its chief function. But by five o’clock all was over, 
and only a few stray shots were heard in the night. 
Thus with a little energy and foresight, and strict 
impartiality, order was restored in a few hours. The 
whole affair forms a striking contrast to what 
occurred in other places, where bungling generals 
and fatuous officials allowed small émextes to develop 
into alarming disturbances. The next day the shops 
remained closed during the morning, but in the after- 
noon, one after another, the iron shutters began to go 
up, and on the second day after the disturbances the 
town resumed its normal aspect. 

When the interest caused by the outbreak had 
subsided, I had leisure to explore the town of Erivan. 
It is certainly one of the most lovely ‘spots in the 
Caucasus. The splendid view of Ararat, which one 
enjoys from almost every elevated spot or open space, 
is alone enough to entitle it to a high place among 
beautiful cities. The giant mountain dominates the 
whole town, the whole countryside. The finest point 
of view is from the terrace of the residence of the 
Armenian bishop, for one sees it rise up beyond a 


222 RE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


foregr ind of delightful vineyards and well-watered 
hillsi' , the famous gardens of Erivan. The 
history of the town goes very far back. According 
to local tradition it was built, like Nakhitchevan, by 
Noah soon after the Deluge. It is first mentioned by 
reliable autho“ s~ ~“ ~*. century, but it prob- 


ably existed ' the VII, From the XVI. 
century onwa' squent allusions to it, for 
it was a pe contention between the 
Turks and the h of whom held it and 
lost it in tur reginning of the XIX. 
century it belong) a, and the first attempt 


which the Russians’ ic to capture it, in 1804, 
failed. But in 1827, during the Russo-Persian war, 
General Paskievich shelled it, and then marched in 
without much difficulty—whence his title of Erzvansky. 

The population is about 28,000, almost equally 
divided between Tartars and Armenians. The former 
are the richer of the two races, and own large estates 
in the district, but hoard their wealth; the latter 
carry ontrade. The prosperity of the Erivan depends 
on the agricultural products of the neighbourhood, 
of which wine and cotton are the most important. 
There is a brandy factory belonging to an Armenian. 
The town is also a centre of trade from various parts 
of Russia, Armenia and Persia. 

Erivan is thoroughly Oriental in character, although 
since the Russian occupation many new houses have 
been built. There is a long, broad, dusty street, the 
Akstafievskaya, which starts from the boulevard and 
follows a north-easterly direction, ascending towards 
a hill flanked by two-storied houses, mostly of the 


THE LAND OF ARARAT 223 


usual Russian style. South of the boulevard is the 
Orthodox Church, a hideous stone structure adorned 
with bulging domes, and then a wide open square 
with rows of booths on one side and low garden walls 
on the other. Here the market is held, and there is 
a constant passing to and fro of country carts, cabs, 
and men riding smart little Tartar horses, which are 
here much handsomer than the smaller mountain 
ponies of Georgia and the Central Caucasus ; follow- 
ing the continuation of the Akstafievskaya we ascend 
a picturesque street of Tartar shops to another 
market-place, where groups of camels are usually to 
be seen. From the first market-place a number of 
narrow lanes lead into the Tartar bazar, a rabbit 
warren of dark entries and cut-throat dens. An 
inveterate collector might no doubt unearth some 
curios out of these gloomy and ill-smelling depths, 
but I could see nothing of a tempting nature, and 
the bazar seemed poorer than others I had visited. 
But the vaulted passages themselves, redolent of 
all the mysteries of the East, with their dark 
curtained shops, the crowds of Tartars clad in long 
blue tunics, and the green turbans of the mxdlahs 
passing up and down, are very attractive. In one 
small open room I came upon a teacher imparting 
religious instruction to about a dozen little boys; he 
was droning out his lesson in a sing-song, monotonous 
voice, swaying to and fro. In another den a barber 
was shaving a victim to his last hair. At every turn 
were coffee and tea stalls, but those strange and 
delicious sweetmeats of the East which I had tasted 
at Constantinople and Sarajevo were not to be found. 


224 1TRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


In queer galleries and tiny courts huge ungainly 
camels were reposing. Then through the foul- 
smelling bazar you come out suddenly on the great 
mosque called the Gok Djami. It is a good deal 
more than a mosque; it is a long quadrangle con- 
taining several plac-s -* ~orship and a number of 


cells, schools, and of the Moslem religious 
administration. ery ancient, having been. 
built by Ne e XVIII. century, but it 
is handsome. o Shiah worship, although 
in the past the jues changed from Sunni 
to Shiah and from ) Sunni according as the 
town was held w Persia. The entrance 


is through a doorway tlanked by a minaret adorned 
with coloured tiles, leading into a large rectanglar court 
round a garden of quite Arabian Nights’ fascina- 
tion. In the middle is a pool surrounded by immense 
elms casting deep shadows over the tranquil water. 
Stately, dignified Mohammedans in flowing robes walk 
slowly about or sit by the side of the fountain, drink- 
ing tea and smoking long pipes. At each end of the 
quadrangle is a mosque; the one nearest the bazar 
entrance is the larger of the two. It is surmounted 
by a tile-covered dome, and the interior is also adorned 
with beautiful Persian tiles and paintings of arabesques 
interlaced with human figuresand animals. The front, 
however, being open to the court and the floor ona 
raised platform, the general effect is that of an open- 
air café concert. The smaller mosque at the opposite 
end is similar in plan, and the paintings are even 
finer. Along the two sides of the quadrangle are 
rows of cells where the mx//aks and zmams reside. 


Exivan. Ix THE Courtyarp oF THE Mosgue caLLAD Gox Dyastt, 
Photo by J. Gordon Browne. 


0 face page 224, 


THE LAND OF ARARAT 225 


Each apartment consists of a group of two or three 
cells, as bare as possible, with no furniture, but one 
or two rugs and a divan which is part of the structure. 


The only light is admitted through the door on to _ 
the court. On leaving the mosque I approached the ~— 


minaret, and knowing that there would be a fine view 
from the top, I asked an old muezzin to show me 
the way. This he was rather reluctant to do, but he 
eventually found the key and opened the door. With 
difficulty I ascended the narrow, winding stairs (1 
often wonder if there are any fat muezzzns), and 
admired the view from the summit. My guide was 
obviously in a state of nerves; he stuck closely to 
one side of the balcony and tried to prevent me from 
going round to the other. The reason of his anxiety, 
he explained, was the fact that there were some 
Armenian houses close by, and that the sight of a 
Tartar on the top of a minaret might prove an irre- 
sistible temptation for a pot-shot. However, we re- 
descended unharmed, much to the guide’s relief. 
Just outside the town there is another interesting 
building, the Palace, or rather Kiosk, of the Sardars 
(governors). In Persian times the Shah's representa- 


tives at Erivan were very great and powerful officials, . 


and usually spent their summers in this little building, 
which is in a cool situation. Here was once an im- 
portant suburb of the town, with a fortress, a mosque, 
and several other buildings. The mosque is still 
partly standing, and is adorned with handsome 
frescoes and tiles, now unfortunately falling to pieces. 
The whole group of buildings are being allowed 
to go to rack and ruin for want of a little care. 
15 


RE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


I had inspected the ruins, and—tell it not in 
Gath— picked up a few fragments of tiles, my cabby 
drove me across several walls, over the remains of a 
tower, down into a moat, to the Palace of the Sardars. 
This building is in somewhat better repair, but it 
too is neglected. It is quite small, a little gem 
of Persian e—“*=------ * consists of one large 


central hall oce thole width of the build- 
ing with thre all rooms on each side, 
beautifully j | decorated with charm- 
ing designs part faint and faded but 
bursting’ out ours in places, like half- 
forgotten dreams. ulted ceiling is covered 
with a number of : panes of looking-glass, 


the favourite form of decoration in a wealthy Persian 
house ; there are also some portraits of famous men. 
Wood-carving, painted and gilt, covers the walls and 
doors, still almost intact. The windows have wooden 
trellis shutters to keep out the burning sunlight. 
Erivan is built on raised ground round which the 
river Zanga has cut a tortuous channel with pre- 
cipitous sides. The Sardarsky Dvorietz, as the 
Russians call the Kiosk, is on the very edge of 
the cliff, and overlooks the river and the road far 
below. Here the old Persian governors lived in 
luxurious ease, gazing across the river to the vine- 
yards and orchards extending for many miles, then 
to the plain, and beyond that again to the great and 
glorious mountain. It reminded me of the palace 
of the khans at Bakhtchi Sarai, and although much 
smaller, less magnificent, and in a far worse state 
of preservation than the stately residence of the 


THE LAND OF ARARAT 227 


Crimean princes, it has the same old-world Eastern 
charm. : 

There are few other sights to see in Erivan. The 
streets are mostly narrow, tortuous lanes, between 
mud walls above which trees appear. There is 
vegetation everywhere, and cool runnels in almost 
every street. The flat roofs, on which the in- 
habitants spend the evenings and sleep during the 
fierce heat of summer, are characteristic. But there 
are also some handsome houses belonging to rich 
Armenians, well-built and luxurious, and surrounded 
by pleasant gardens. 

But there are many interesting people in the town, 
among whom I may mention Karapet Vardapet * Ter- 
Mkrtchian, the Eparkhialny Nachalnik or acting 
Bishop of Erivan. Beyond the bazar on raised 
ground is a group of buildings surrounded by a wall 
forming what one may term the close. There is 
the Armenian Cathedral—an edifice of no great 
architectural importance—the episcopal offices, and 
residences for the bishop and a few priests. The 
bishop’s house is an unpretentious building one storey 
high, with a veranda giving on a sort of garden 
within the enclosure, and another broad terrace look- 
ing straight across the plains to Mount Ararat. The 
bishop himself, Father Karapet, is a largely built 
man, tall, stout, evidently of great strength, not much 
over forty years of age, handsome and intelligent- 
looking. He wears a long black robe and a tall black 
cap, somewhat like that of Greek bishops, on which 


* The Vardapets are monks and doctors of theology. See next 
Chapter. 


; RE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


he pl sa large flowing hood when he goes out. In 
his hand. he carries a large silver-topped walking 
cane. Everything about him is large, stately, and 
dignified. He is a good specimen of the Armenian 
higher clergy, and is very cultivated. He was 
educated first in the seminary at Etchmiadzin, and 


later at tne —2r, y where he was a pupil 
of Professor Ha talks excellent German, 
as well as 4 ussian, and is the author 
of several p, ne of them in German 
and highly : German learned circles. 
But he told me cha years he had not been 
able to devote : study, for the whole of 
his attention hau . it in pastoral duties and 


in visitations to places where his people were in 
conflict with the Russian authorities over Church and 
school questions, or where they were at war with the 
Tartars. 

I also called on Count Tiesenhausen, the Gover- 
nor, a typical Russo-German bureaucrat, polite and 
friendly, but unwilling to talk politics from fear of 
compromising himself. He was evidently very sus- 
picious, and trusted neither the Tartars nor the 
Armenians, and wished to avoid taking a definite 
line of his own, which was all the easier for him 
now that Prince Napoleon as Governor-General had 
full responsibility. All I could get out of him was 
that the Armenians accused the Tartars of being in 
the wrong, while the Tartars accused the Armenians 
—both of which facts were not unknown to me. I 
was even less fortunate with Prince Napoleon. 
Although I had the honour of occupying a room 


THE LAND OF ARARAT 229 


next to that of His Imperial Highness, 1 did not 
succeed in obtaining an interview, as the Prince was 
afraid lest his words ‘should get into the papers.” 
I had a talk with his Chief of the Staff, Colonel 
von der Nonne, an agreeable, intelligent officer, who 
willingly gave me all the information I desired, and 
even let me read the Prince’s official report to the 
Viceroy on the recent occurrences. I may mention 
that at least on this occasion the official report was 
borne out by all the information I could obtain from 
private sources. 

I then made the acquaintance of some Armenian 
notables, one of whom held a minor Government 
post. His official connection, however, did not 
prevent him from abusing the policy of the Russian 
Government nor from speaking of the Tartars with 
great bitterness. He was otherwise a mild little 
man, kindly and hospitable, and although less in- 
tellectual and cultivated than some other Armenians 
I have met, and not wealthy, he had managed to send 
his son to the University of Kieff, and his daughter 
to that of Ziirich. ‘‘ The conditions here,” he said to 
me, ‘‘are terrible. If I could only afford it, I should 
like to sell everything I possess and go right away to 
Europe and live in peace.” At his hospitable board 
I met several other Armenians, including a priest 
from Asia Minor, who after dinner sang the war- 
song of Antranik, the leader of Armenian revo- 
lutionary bands in Turkey. It was interesting and 
by no means inharmonious, but most melancholy for 
a war-song. I could not converse with the priest 
as he only knew Armenian and Turkish. I found 


$89 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 
that the Erivan Armenians speak their own language 
much more than those of Tiflis or Baku, and use it 
in preference to Russian. Dr. Tigraniantz, another 
highly cultured Armenian whom I met at Erivan, was 
a most charming and intelligent man, about sixty 
years old, belonging to one of the most notable 
families in the country. He had studied, like so 
many other Russian-Armenians, at the ex-German 
University of Dorpat in the Baltic provinces. 

I spent a pleasant afternoon the last day of my stay 
among the famous fruit gardens of Erivan. The town 
is in the midst of an oasis of vineyards and orchards 
beyond which lies the arid plain, and the fertility of 
this district is celebrated throughout Armenia. The 
particular property which I visited belongs to a rich 
Armenjan named Afrikian. Having inherited a large 
wine-growing estate, he had studied scientific horticul- 
ture at Klosterneuburg, near Vienna, and in South 
Tirol. On returning home he had introduced all 
the latest improvements into his property, which was 
now exceedingly valuable. These orchards are de- 
lightful retreats during the hot weather. The soil 
is stony and arid, but an elaborate system of irriga- 
tion has been established, so that the whole belt of 
vineyards is intersected with tiny runnels. M. 
Afrikian has built himself a large and comfortable 
country house, on the terrace of which we spent a 
pleasant quiet hour eating unlimited quantities of 
grapes and peaches, and drinking excellent wine, the 
best I have tasted in the Caucasus. These Erivan 
grapes, called Azskmzsk, are a delicious memory ; 
small, seedless, with an exquisitely sweet flavour, 


THE LAND OF ARARAT 231 


one could go on eating them for ever. You do 
not eat them one at a time as you do other grapes, 
but put half a dozen into your mouth at once; it 
may be greedy, but it is very nice all the same. And 
the peaches! Who can do justice to their scent, their 
taste, their colour, their luscious softness? We were 
also taken to see the wine-cellars, cool vaults stocked 
with huge vats, the winepresses fitted up with modern 
machinery, the chemical testing appliances, and all the 
other details of a well fitted up wine factory. My 
host was pleased to have an opportunity of airing 
his German, in which he discoursed regretfully of 
his happy days in the peaceful Austrian valleys, in a 
land where order is established and life and property 
secure. 

It was difficult to imagine here, under these cool, 
green bowers, amidst these heavy laden vineyards and 
peach-trees, where stalwart Armenian peasants were 
employed among the peaceful labours of the field, 
that we were in a land of fire and sword, that at any 
moment the silence might be broken by shots, and 
that a column of smoke might rise from burning farm- 
steads. But all remained silent and undisturbed, save 
for the songs of the peasant at work. 


CHAPTER XIl 


THE f ARMENIA 
HILE people have not consti- 
tuted a ical State for nearly a 
thousand years, remained a nation with 
distinct racial and aracteristics, and this fact 
is chiefly, almost + due to the Gregorian 


Armenian Church.* That Unurch has been the focus 
of the Armenian national spirit, the inspiring force 
which has kept the people together through cen- 
turies of war and bloodshed, revolution and political 
separation, and many foreign invasions, and_ still 
maintains them a nation, although scattered through- 
out three unfriendly Empires. In some ways it is 
to-day the most living of all the Churches of the 
world, for it is all in all to the people who belong to 
it. It is the refuge and the hope of this sorely-tried 
nation, and has held aloft the banner of Armenian 
nationalism throughout the terrible persecutions which 
the people have suffered and are still suffering. It is 
in every sense a national Church ; none but Armenians 
belong to it, and even the Armenians who profess 

* I must acknowledge my indebtedness for the architectural details 


on Etchmiadzin to Mr. Lynch’s Armenia (vol. i.), as well as for some 
of the facts of Armenian Church history. 
233 


—— om 4s 


THE HEART OF ARMENIA 233 


other religions have a sentimental and patriotic affec- 
tion for it. 

The headquarters of the Gregorian Church are at 
the great monastery of Etchmiadzin, near Erivan, the 
Rome of the Armenian Church, where the Katho- 
likos or Primate of the Armenians resides. During 
the recent troubles, as in every other critical phase of 
their history, the Armenians have looked to Etch- 
miadzin for guidance, to the Church which for close 
on sixteen hundred years has been their beacon and 
their hope. A visit to Etchmiadzin enables us to 
understand the tenacity of this people and their 
devotion to their faith better than a whole library 
of books. 

The drive from Erivan to Etchmiadzin is one of the 
most beautiful in the world, and I quite endorse Mr. 
H. F. B. Lynch’s enthusiastic statement that “like 
the journey to Italy, it ought to be included in the 
programme of a liberal education.” I started at nine - 
o'clock on a brilliant October morning, together with 
Father Karapet Ter-Mkrtchian, who was going to 
visit the Katholikos on business matters. The road, 
after leaving the last mud walls of Erivan behind, 
descends sharply into the gorge of the Zanga, which 
it crosses, and then ascends a bank on the same level 
as Erivan itself. The gleaming white tents of the 
encampment of the Baku Regiment occupy a shelf 
close to the river. For a mile or two beyond this 
point the road is flanked by vineyards and orchards, 
watered by countless streams, and then emerges into 
the broad desert plain under the glorious autumn sun. 
To the right and to the left the vast sandy expanse 


234 RE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


spreads out absolutely flat, shimmering with golden 
light, : blaze with colour. To the north the great 
bould s of Alagéz, to the south the mysterious twin 
peaks of Ararat. Once beyond the vineyards we 
pass no more human habitations, but we meet 


numbers of \¢ road, mostly peasants, 
Armenian or w of the latter, mounted 
on their 2s, eyed us suspiciously, 
and Fatner rfully informed me that 
they were of “letting fly” at us, 
although the Zuropean was a restrain- 
ing influence. does not fail to take pre- 
cautions in the shz ded revolver; the Church 


of Armenia is bound in self-defence to be a Church 
militant. We had driven for nearly two hours when 
we came to a spot where a side track led to a group of 
ruins to our left. They are the remains of the church 
and monastery of Zuarthotz, which have been recently 
unearthed. We stopped for half an hour to inspect 
them, and they are quite worth a visit. The church 
is said to have been founded by the Katholikos 
Nerses III. in the V. century, and to have been 
destroyed by an earthquake in the X. century. It 
aroused great admiration at the time it was built, but 
in the course of ages it had fallen into ruin and was 
completely buried in the sand ; the work of excavation 
was commenced in 1893, but it was not undertaken 
seriously until 1900, when the Archimandrite Khatchik 
proceeded to unearth the remains bit by bit. The 
foundations now stand out clear, and give one a good 
idea of what the building must have been like. It is 
a fine example of the round style described in connec- 


THE HEART OF ARMENIA 235 


tion with some specimens at Ani,* a form particularly 
common among the ancient Armenian ecclesiastical 
buildings, and consists of an outer circle of walls sup- 
ported by piers of masonry, and an inner circle with 
four large piers connected by rows of columns, surround- 
ing a square enclosure within which stands a stone altar. 
Of the columns only the bases remain, and some of 
the capitals which are lying about on the ground, 
the former adorned with an interlacing pattern. The 
other ornaments and mouldings are all of a solid sim- 
plicity characteristic of Armenian architecture. There 
are flowery designs, eagles, anagrams, and many frag- 
ments of writing in various Oriental scripts, and one 
or two in Greek. Bits of tessellated mosaic pave- 
ment have also been discovered. An old monk lives 
alone in a little hut adjoining the ruins, and carries on 
the work of excavation, for there is still much to be 
done. The foundations of other buildings near the 
church—refectories, monks’ cells, &c.—are being 
brought to light, and every year new discoveries 
are made. 

On leaving Zuarthotz we resumed our drive to- 
wards Etchmiadzin, and were soon transported from 
the contemplation of forgotten medizval ruins to the 
realities of modern Russia, by the sight of a long pro- 
cession of peasants, some of them in chains, escorted 
by Russian soldiers: they were political prisoners 
who had been arrested for complicity in the recent 
troubles. One of the escort proceeded to abuse 
our driver, and to threaten him with his bayonet 
for not clearing off the road to make room for the 

* See Chapter xv. 


236 RE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


column of prisoners, as is the rule in Russia; had 
there not been a high ecclesiastic in his carriage he 
might have been arrested himself. However, we 
were allowed to pass unmolested, and soon came in 
sight of a green oasis of trees, above which the 
conical domes of Etchmiadzin cathedral arose. We 


passed through \ , now a dusty, straggling 
village, and the seat Russian district authori- 
ties, but the c: mia at the time of King 
Tiridates, and on a broad space, at one 
end of which isa dl of grey mud. Itis very 
Persian, absolutel’ devoid of all ornament. 
The line is broken g rounded projections at 


intervals, but there are no »wers. A massive portal 
is opened, and we enter the celebrated monastery of 
Etchmiadzin. It is a vast quadrangular enclosure 
containing many buildings, of which the most im- 
portant form an inner rectangle surrounding the 
great court. In the middle of this stands the 
cathedral of St. Gregory the Illuminator. 

I was ushered into a stone building reserved for 
strangers, and deposited my belongings in a large and 
not uncomfortable room carpeted with some beautiful 
Eastern rugs. It opens on to the roof of a lower 
building, whence one enjoys another wonderful view 
of Ararat. Here I found G. B., who had preceded 
me. The monk deputed to look after us has been in 
the United States inspecting Armenian churches in 
that country, and spoke English, The Oriental 
educated in America and speaking American is quite 
a distinct type with which I was already familiar from 
my experiences in Bulgaria; he is a curious mixture 


MOLVAINOTTY WILL AIOE) “LG AO WHAENLVD “SIZaVINT, 


THE HEART OF ARMENIA __287 


of elemental Orientalism and transatlantic push, but is 
usually honest and very friendly. This particular 
specimen, whose name I regret I have forgotten, was 
a charming man, and most willing to oblige in every 
way. Our meals, which were served in a small 
ground-floor room, were shared with him and another 
Russian-speaking monk, besides an Armeno-American 
married couple who had come over on a pilgrimage. 
We were fed right royally and generally treated 
with great hospitality during our short stay. There 
is no fixed charge, but each visitor on leaving 
presents a donation, according to his means, to the 
monastery. 

We were then conducted to the great court. It is 
said to be the largest quadrangle in the world, being 
349 feet 6 inches in length, and 335 feet 2 inches in 
width.* The buildings surrounding it are of stone or 
plaster, two stories high, and of very simple archi- 
tecture. The greater part of them are occupied by 
the cells of the monks, each monk having a set of 
two or three small rooms with his own private stair- 
way into the court, not at all unlike an Oxford college. 
On the south side there is the refectory and library, 
on the west the residence of the Katholikos. In the 
middle rises the cathedral of St. Gregory the I]lumi- 
nator—a church which may be called the St. Peter’s of 
the Armenian world. It marks the spot where, 
according to the tradition, St. Gregory the Illuminator 
received a vision of Jesus Christ; the name Etch- 
miadzin signifies ‘‘the Only Begotten is descended.” 
A church was built to commemorate the descent in 

* Lynch’s Armensa, vol. i. p. 243. 


238 . [RE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


the IV, century a.p.; but important restorations were 
made i1 483 by the Katholikos Vahan Mamikian, and 
others by Komitas in 618; to the latter date may be 
assigr d the essential features of the present edifice. 
The porch over the west entrance was added in the 
XVII. century. The building is a rectangle of grey 
stone, with four anses. of which one is hidden by the 


porch ; each is su by an open cupola and a 
belfry in red ston ~T of is very low, almost flat, 
but there ar domes at the east end. 
There is a ‘me supported on a poly- 
gonal drum 4 x of nave and transept. 
The general ¢ s {reat solidity and strength, 
but the building as a y 's unusual and interesting 


rather than beautiful, at altogether inferior to 
many other Armenian churches, the subsequent 
restorations having considerably altered its original 
character. 

The interior is impressive; there is a high altar 
surmounted by a canopy in the centre of the church 
under the dome, on the very spot where Christ de- 
scended, and one in each of the apses except that on 
the west. The windows are small, and the light is 
therefore dim. A large part of the walls and piers 
are covered with paintings of no great merit. Behind 
the east end of the church is an annexe containing the 
treasury and reliquaries. Among the objects here 
preserved are many relics greatly venerated by the 
Armenian people, such as the hand and arm of St. 
Gregory, a fragment of the Ark, the head and arm of 
St. Thaddeus the Apostle, the relics of St. Rhipsime 
the martyred Roman virgin, and a carved portrait of 


THE HEART OF ARMENIA 239 


Christ, attributed to St. John the Apostle. The 
examples of Armenian and other Oriental silver and 
goldsmith’s work are very interesting and of great 
antiquity. There are also many recent gifts of 
Russian Tzars to the Katholikoi and Church of 
Etchmiadzin. 

Another interesting building is the Academy or 
Seminary. The lower Armenian clergy are very 
ignorant, only the Archimandrites or vardapets being 
men of learning, but the more recent Katholikoi have 
determined that this reproach shall no longer be 
deserved, and the academy was founded primarily for 
the education of future priests, but also for boys not 
wishing to enter the Church. The idea was originated 
by Nerses V. in the middle of the XIX. century, but 
it was not carried out until 1873 under the pontificate 
of George IV. The academy is open to all Armenian 
boys, and is a unique institution in the Armenian 
world, for it includes not only a school curriculum, but 
a course of higher education as well. The pupils are 
about 200 or 300, and as a matter of fact only a 
small proportion of them enter the priesthood. They 
are educated and maintained free of charge, although 
those who can afford it pay their expenses. The 
building is clean and well kept, and the discipline 
seems excellent. The course includes history, 
geography, mathematics, Armenian literature, and 
foreign languages. One had the opportunity of seeing 
the different types of Armenian boys here collected ; 
although the traditional swarthy type with large 
aquiline nose and intensely black eyes and hair is 
predominant, there were some as fair as English boys. 


20 «6 [RE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


But the most interesting feature of Etchmiadzim is 
the Church organization and the clergy themselves 
The Gregorian Armenian Church is believed by its 
adherents to be the oldest established Christian Church 


in the world, bavi  — unded by St. Gregory the 
Illuminator, who o the Armenian king by 
means of as anity was adopted as the 
State religion u mtury, thirty years before 
it was officially in the West. From that 
time onward the ts in the Armenian 

dom coexist, viz. t Kings and that of the 


was St. Gregory himself. Both dignities were at 
first hereditary, for celibacy was not enjoined on 
ecclesiastics until subsequently. The Armenian 
kingdom collapsed a century later; it was revived in 
the VIII. century, and crumbled to dust in the XII. 
century, never to rise again; but the ecclesiastical 
primacy survives and flourishes to this day. In the 
IV. century hierarchical government was introduced 
more or less in the form in which it still exists. The 
separation from the Western Church was partly due 
to geographical and partly to national causes. The 
Armenians had been represented at the first three 
Councils, but not at that of Chalcedon, and they re- 
jected the compromise there effected admitting the 
dual nature of Christ. They held a Synod at Vagar- 
shapat in 491, in which they solemnly cursed the 
Council of Chalcedon. The doctrine proclaimed at 
that Council that Christ by His Godhead is of one 


Ercustapzix, ARMENIAN Boys} ARCHIMANDKITE IN THE CENTRE. 


ETCHMIADZIN. ARMENIAN Bovs AT THE ACADEMY. 


ce page 240. 


THE HEART OF ARMENTA 241 


nature with God, and by His humanity, apart from 
sin, is of one nature with man, was rejected. The 
Armenians held that Christ became man in every 
sense ; and that in Christ there is one Person and 
one Nature, one will and one energy, and in their 
liturgy is contained the passage: ‘‘O God, holy God, 
mighty God, everlasting God, who wast crucified for 
us.” They also probably accepted the view that the 
mortal body of Christ was incorruptible. Otherwise 
their dogmas closely resemble those of the Eastern 
Church. Their ritual and liturgy, however, differ 
considerably, having been developed on quite inde- 
pendent lines. Since the separation the Eastern 
Church has made many attempts to absorb that of 
Armenia, but without avail. The attempts made in 
very recent times by the most powerful branch of the 
Eastern Church—that of Russia—to draw the 
Armenians into its fold have met with no better 
success. The Armenians are devotedly attached to 
their Church, and although it differs so little from the 
Orthodox Church in essentials, they realize that its 
independence is indissolubly bound up with their own 
separate existence as a nation. Their devotion to 
Christianity is truly admirable. No other people has 
known such persecution, and every inducement has 
been offered to them to abjure theircreed. In Turkey 
conversion to Mohammedanism would at any time 
have ended their sufferings and placed them at once 
among the ruling classes. In Russia acceptance of 
Orthodoxy would have earned them the approval and 
support of the bureaucracy. But, except for a small 
number of Catholic and Protestant Armenians, the 
16 


[RE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


b f the nation has remained true to its ancient 
C «cian faith, Both in Russia and in Turkey they 
form ; separate religious community with a distinct 
orga zation. The Armenian Church as it is con- 
stituted to-day is based on two main institutions, the 
position of the Katholikos and the influence of the 
laity in matters eccle cal. The whole of the 


Armenian commuy der the spiritual authority 
of the F th niadzin. Under him are 
the Kath 9s of a), and that of Aghtamar 
(an island in Li who claims the supreme 
dignity, although ne is only recognized by a 
small section of > lation, the Patriarchs of 


Constantinople and jerusalem, and the bishops, of 
whom there are fifty-two in Turkey, or counting the 
monastery bishops fifty-seven, six in Russia and two 
in Persia. There are in addition twelve bishops 
attached to the person of the Katholikos residing at 
Etchmiadzin. The synod, an ancient institution, 
revived and strengthened by the Russian Government 
as a means of placing the Church under the control of 
the State, consists of eight priests, who advise and 
assist the Katholikos. The clergy are divided into 
three classes—the bishops, the monks and priests, and 
the deacons. By another more practical distinction 
they are divided into black and white, as are those of . 
the Orthodox Church. The black clergy are the 
monks ; they are bound to celibacy, and from them 
alone the bishops are chosen. To be admitted 
as a monk it is necessary to have passed through a 
seminary, where the title of Vardafet, or doctor of 
theology, is conferred ; but the culture of the bishops 


THE HEART OF ARMENIA 243 


and the vardapfets of the great monasteries is much 
higher than that of the ordinary monks. They wear 
long, black robes, and tall, cylindrical hats. The white 
clergy, or parish priests, are married. While the 
bishops are appointed by the Katholikos, the priests 
are elected by the laity and merely ordained by the 
bishop. The most important manifestation of the 
influence of the laity is to be found in the election of 
the Katholikos himself, although since Etchmiadzin 
was incorporated in Russian territory the Russian 
Government has a considerable say in the matter. 
On the death of the Katholikos all the Armenian 
dioceses are invited to send each a lay and a clerical 
delegate to Etchmiadzin within a year’s time. These 
delegates, together with the synod‘ and the seven 
senior bishops resident at Etchmiadzin, meet in the 
church of St. Gregory and elect four candidates, who 
are reduced by a second ballot totwo. Their names 
are announced to the Viceroy (or Governor-General) 
of the Caucasus, who transmits them to the Taar. 
The latter confirms one of them Katholikos, and 
issues an w#kaz to that effect. The Katholikos is 
then consecrated. His power, however, is limited to 
some extent by the synod, each of whose numbers is 
appointed by the Tzar out of two names presented 
by the Katholikos. The Tzar is represented on the 
synod by the procurator, a Russian official, who 
examines the validity of the synod’s decrees, and in 
all matters not purely spiritual these are subjected to 
the approval of the Minister of the Interior. These 
and other questions concerning the relations of Church 
and State are regulated by the Podgjenze or Regu- 


RE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


latins Statute enacted by Nicholas I. in 1836. The 
bish_ sare appointed by the Katholikos, but in the 
case ‘those in Russian territory they must receive 
their eveguatur from the Tzar. The interregnum of 
a year between the death of a Katholikos and the 
appointment of his successor offers plenty of oppor- 


tunities toth Gc to intrigue and extend its 
powers over The Church is maintained 
by the voh of the community, and 
by the inc its estates. Of these the 
greater part | Russian territory, as the 
pious donors aey would be safer under 
a Christian Goy han in the hands of a 
Mohammedan Sultan. t this very circumstance 


enabled the Russian bureaucracy to carry out its 
persecutions most effectually during the Kudtur- 
kampf. A sum of £10,000 a year is devoted to the 
maintenance of Etchmiadzin, and the salary of the 
Katholikos is about £1,000. 

I made the acquaintance of several of the vardapets 
at Etchmiadzin, all of them men of culture and intel- 
ligence. One, Father Galust, has studied at the 
Sorbonne, and speaks excellent French; although a 
cripple, his mind is keenly active, he is a learned 
scholar, and is greatly interested in all the political 
questions of the day. Father Komitas has studied in 
Germany, and is an accomplished musician ; he was 
transcribing the Armenian Church hymns and popular 
songs into modern notation, and has organized a boys’ 
choir which gave concerts at Tiflis and elsewhere. 
Several others are authors of scholarly works either 
in Armenian or in foreign languages. There is an 


THE HEART OF ARMENIA | 245 


Armenian printing press at Etchmiadzin, which has 
done much to propagate education among the people. 
The whole atmosphere of this place is that of a 
centre of learning and culture, like some great Bene- 
dictine abbey of the Middle Ages. It was a striking 
experience to find oneself in such a cultivated society 
here in this blood-stained and barbarous Eastern land. 

But the most impressive figure of all is that of 
the aged and venerable Katholikos, Father Migrtich 
Khrimian, or Hairik as his people are wont to call 
him. My interview with his Holiness was unfortu- 
nately of the briefest, as he was in bad health, but 
it was sufficient for me to realize the wonderful fasci- 
nation of this ‘‘Grand Old Man” of Armenia, to 
which all who have had the privilege of knowing him 
bear witness. He was born eighty-six years ago at 
Van, in Asia Minor, and in his early years he travelled 
much in the Middle Eastern lands; afterwards he 
lived at Constantinople and Sis, where he maintained 
himself by trading, and also brought out several 
volumes of poetry. His wife having died, he decided 
to enter the Church, and in 1834 be became a 
vardapet. He continued his literary labours and 
edited a review called the Eagle of Vaspurakan. 
In 1855 he was appointed Archimandrite of the 
monastery of Varag, where he established a printing 
press and set to work to arouse the national spirit of 
the Armenian people and to prepare them for coming 
events. The effect of his preaching and writing was 
miraculous, and the Armenians, who had long for- 
gotten their past traditions as a nation, suddenly 
awoke and realized that what the other oppressed 


246 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


peoples of the East were doing they might do also. 
In 1869 Migrtich was appointed Patriarch of Con- 
stantinople—a position of great political as well as 
ecclesiastical importance, for it implies the headship of 
the Armenian mi//et, or nationality, in Turkey. But 
in 1874 the Turkish Government became suspicious 
of his activity and influence, and forced him to resign. 
After the Russo-Turkish war of 1877, when the hopes 
of all the Christian peoples groaning under the 
Turkish yoke were awakened, he was chosen to 
represent Armenia at the Berlin Congress, and 
obtained certain promises which were inserted in the 
Treaty, but never carried out. He also visited Eng- 
land and other European countries at that time. 
These activities made him less a persona grata than 
ever at Constantinople, but he continued to preach 
and write in Asia Minor, until in 1889 he was exiled 
to Jerusalem. Three years later he was elected 
Katholikos of Etchmiadzin by the unanimous votes of 
the whole Armenian nation. The Turkish Govern- 
ment did not wish to let him leave Jerusalem to accept 
the position, and it was through the intervention of 
the Russian Government that the difficulties were 
overcome. Russia thus posed as the friend and 
‘protector of the Armenian Church, deriving much 
prestige thereby. Since his election to the supreme 
dignity he has been the official leader of the Armenian 
people, and has guided them with unerring tact and 
whole-hearted devotion through their terrible trials. 
His people venerate him and love him, as indeed he 
fully deserves. First came the awful massacres of 
1894-96 in Turkey, when over a hundred thousand 


THE HEART OF ARMENIA 27 


Armenians were butchered in Asia Minor and in 
Constantinople, followed by more oppression. Then 
there was the long series of persecutions on the part 
of the Russian Government, less brutal perhaps but 
more insidious and dangerous than the actions of the 
Turkish Government. When the late M. von Plehve 
inaugurated his policy of destroying the Armenian 
Church, ably carried out by Prince Golytzin, the 
Katholikos solemnly protested in the name of his 
people and defended their rights to the last. In 1903, 
after the #kaz confiscating the revenues of the Church, 
Prince Nakashidze, the Vice-Governor of Erivan, 
went himself to Etchmiadzin with the police-master 
to superintend the seizure of the title-deeds, and 
submitted the aged and venerable prelate to gross 
indignity; when the latter was returning to the 
monastery from the church of Rhipsime, ‘where he 
had gone in the afternoon as was his wont, the 
gendarmes on duty insolently forbade his entrance, and 
he was forced to go back to Rhipsime for the night. 
When asked to give up the keys of the safe where the 
papers and title-deeds were kept, Migrtich refused, 
saying, “ The property is not mine to give; I hold it 
in trust for the whole Armenian nation. If you wish 
to take it I cannot prevent you, as you are the 
strongest, but I shall never willingly surrender it.” 
The safe was broken open and the property con- 
fiscated, as I have told in another chapter. 

The Armenian Church thus found itself without 
means of support. All schemes of improvement were 
suspended, and the bishops and monks reduced their 
expenses to an absolute minimum. But the people 


tE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


cam rwardas one man. Rich and poor alike con- 
trib their share for the upkeep of their Church, 
and spite of the prohibition of the authorities, a 
proc: on of 3,000 people marched out of Erivan 
on tov to pay their respects to the Katholikos 
and assure him of their approval of his action and of 


their un. e€ ~ For the next two years 
he was cea: opposing the persecuting 
policy of the 1 in the wave of tentative 
liberalism v death of M. von Plehve 
and the der arms in the Far East, 
the objection confiscation was with- 
drawn and permi pen the schools granted. 
But if the laws ha aanged and the heart of 


Pharaoh has been softened, there are still the troubles 
with the Tartars, which are by no means over. The 
energy of the Katholikos is prodigious. Until about 
a year ago he performed most of his pastoral duties in 
the neighbourhood on horseback, and he was per- 
petually travelling backwards and forwards between 
Etchmiadzin, Tiflis, and St. Petersburg on business 
connected with the affairs of his Church and people. 
But now at last age is beginning to tell even on 
his iron frame, and for some time before my visit he 
had been in failing health. I called one morning at 
his residence, a very simple apartment furnished in 
the modern style, but without any luxury; I was told 
that as he was unwell he could not see me until the 
afternoon. At five o'clock I drove out with an inter- 
preter to the little church of Rhipsime, a mile or 
so outside Etchmiadzin, for it was here that the 
Katholikos had repaired. The church itself is con- 


THE HEART OF ARMENIA 249 


temporary with the cathedral, but smaller and plainer 
in design. Close by is the house of the Katholikos, 
which is more modest than his apartment in the 
monastery. I was ushered into a large room on the 
first floor ; his Holiness, attired in a simple black tunic, 
was lying on a sofa gazing out through the window 
to the wonderful view of the vast plain with Ararat in 
the distance. His countenance is one of the most 
interesting and impressive I have ever seen. Although 
lying there, shorn of all the outward pomp of his high 
rank, he had the dignity of an ancient Patriarch or 
of a Father of the Church. Hair and beard are grey, 
but by no means white, the features Oriental, almost 
Semitic, the eyes of great keenness and penetration, 
the expression full of mental vigour, and at the same 
time kindly and sympathetic. He received me most 
amiably, excusing himself for the shortness of the 
interview he could grant me on account of his health. 
I spoke to him through the interpreter, for unlike 
most of the Etchmiadzin clergy, he only speaks 
Armenian and Turkish. I asked his Holiness a 
few questions concerning the recent events in the 
Caucasus, and his eyes lit up with anger against the 
persecutors of his people. To my question as to 
whether he was satisfied with the retrocession of the 
confiscated Church property by the Russian Govern- 
ment, he replied, ‘“‘ Yes, we are glad, but in what a 
condition has that property been returned to us! In 
their two years’ tenure the Russian officials appointed 
to look after it have done their best to ruin and waste 
our estate.” The new attitude of the Government 
seemed to him satisfactory on the whole, “ but,” he 


RE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


add “if the chiefs are changed, the smaller officials 
are t] same, and there will be much trouble yet." 

W shen retired leaving the Katholikos still gazing 
at tl . far mountain, the symbol of all the fasci- 
nations and mystery of this marvellous Eastern 
land. 


CHAPTER XIII 
RUSSIA'S NEW ROUTE TO PERSIA 


HE access to Northern Persia from Europe is 

now within the Russian sphere of influence. 
When nervous politicians and journalists express fears 
lest Russia should obtain control over Northern Persia 
and suggest means whereby her progress in that 
direction may be interrupted, a glance at the map will 
supply the only possible answer. Until Russia is 
reduced to a state of absolute impotence she cannot be 
prevented from dominating Northern Persia. Her 
geographical position makes that inevitable. Unless 
England or some other Power is prepared to go to 
war with Russia, Northern Persia is bound to fall 
within her orbit of control. Nowadays, however, 
Russia's position in the Middle East is so much 
shaken, that even if she were to advance into Persia, 
that would not constitute the danger for the balance 
of power that it would have done a few years ago. It 
might, therefore, seem not inexpedient to leave her a 
free hand in that region, and there is reason to believe 
that some understanding has been arrived at between 
England and Russia whereby the respective spheres 


of influence of the two Powers have been defined. 
351 


252 1 %E AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


That should lead to an Anglo-Russian entente—a con- 
summation devoutly to be wished. 

A traveller wishing to go from Europe to Teheran 
has the choice of two routes. There is the usual route 
by rail across Russia to Baku, by steamer across the 
Caspian to Resht, and thence on by a road built, 


financed, and ke; sia to the Persian capital. 
A second route lis, Erivan, and Nakhi- 
tchevan to ] tes, across that river, and 
on to Tab ssian road. Section by 
section + has advanced, first to 
Alexandropol wh hes off to Kars, then to 
Erivan, a few m 10 Nakhitchevan, and a 
little later to Dj Russian road from the 


Persian village opposite Djulfa to Tabriz has been 
so constructed that a railway could be laid upon it at 
very short notice. A bridge across the Araxes would 
complete the chain, and St. Petersburg would thus be 
in direct railway communication with Tabriz. Such 
a state of things is sooner or later inevitable, but when 
Russia finally emerges from her troubles as a civilized 
and liberal Power, her dominion over Eastern peoples 
will be less exceptionable and more beneficial from the 
point of view of the general welfare of humanity than 
it has been hitherto. 

A year ago, according to all accounts, a foreigner 
visiting the Russo-Persian frontier would have aroused 
the greatest suspicion on the part of the Russian 
authorities, and might indeed have been summarily 
expelled, causing quite an international complication. 
Now all that is changed, and neither G. B. nor I ever 
received the least molestation. But the conditions of 


RUSSIA’S NEW ROUTE TO PERSIA 253 


travel on the Nakhitchevan railway are such as to 
discourage all who have once experienced them to 
venture again on that line. If the Government really 
wishes to keep out the foreigner, all it has to do is to 
run the new railway as it was being run when | 
travelled over it; that is a far more effective barrier 
than any number of prohibitions. 

The new section does not start from Erivan, the 
old terminus of the line, but from Ulukhanlu, a station 
about eight miles from that town on the Tiflis line. 
By one of those delightful idiosyncrasies of Russian 
administrative methods, the morning train from 
Erivan to Tiflis reaches Ulukhanlu about an hour 
after the tri-weekly Nakhitchevan train has left, and 
the only means by which Erivan passengers can 
avail themselves of it, is by taking the evening train 
to Ulukhanlu, sleeping there, and going on the next 
morning to Nakhitchevan. The obvious remark 
which the reader will make is, Why not drive the 
eight miles to Ulukhanlue? The reply is equally 
obvious : there is no road, and the state of the country 
is such that it is quite impossible to get over the 
fields and ditches and rivers in any vehicle capable of 
carrying luggage. To sleep at Ulukhanlu does not 
seem a very formidable undertaking—to those who 
have not seen Ulukhanlu. The only place where 
one can pass the night is the station waiting-room, an 
apartment about twenty feet by fifteen into which a 
couple of hundred malodorous Asiatics are packed on 
the evenings preceding the departure of a train. 
Fortunately for ourselves we were spared this ordeal, 
as we started not from Erivan, but from Etchniadzin. 


%E AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 
1 2 tion for Etchniadzin—a great many miles 
from _: monastery, of course, but connected with it by 
a road—is on the north or Tiflis side of Ulukhanlu, so 
that it was possible to take the Tiflis train to the 
latter station, and then perhaps catch the Nakhitchevan 
connection—it was by no means a certainty, for 


nothing ever is The good monks of 
Etchniadzin at first t that we should have to 
get up at 3 am. | the train, but on closer 
investigation it : . 6 was sufficiently early, 
We bade fa eat sanctuary, where we 
had enjoyed the f vitality of the Armenian 
Church, and drove 7 .m.to Etchniadzin station. 


A supplementary bre it occupied the long wait 
for the Tiflis train, which picked us up and brought 
us about an hour later to Ulukhanlu junction. Here 
the wildest confusion prevailed. Wooden sheds, un- 
finished buildings and building material, the wretched 
waiting-room afore-mentioned, several sidings, long 
rows of trucks, and a large crowd of people shouting 
and yelling filled the scene. We had not missed the 
train which was still waiting. The ticket-office was a 
tiny wooden hovel where several dozen Asiatics of the 
most unsavoury description were struggling to pur- 
chase tickets. I had a regular free fight before I could 
reach the booking-clerk ; when I had got to him he 
informed me that there was no first-class, only second 
and third. I took second with some misgivings, 
knowing what the seconds on the Transcaucasian 
were like, but was only too glad to have got out of 
the press of verminous Tartars. For a long time yet 
we had to wait on the platform before the carriages 


RUSSIA'S NEW ROUTE TO PERSIA 255 


were opened, and when that was done there was a 
terrific rush for the two second-class cars, and in spite 
of the assistance of a porter we could not get in until 
all the best places were taken. I use “best” in a 
very relative sense, meaning merely window-seats, for 
I never saw such filthy cars before. They had been 
built at Ivry in France (oh, shades of Henry IV. and 
Macaulay!), but long residence in the Tzar’s dominions 
and usage by the Tzar’s subjects had made them quite 
Russian (Asiatic side) in every sense. They were 
very dirty, old, broken-down, and as uncomfortable and 
airless as possible. The narrow seats were covered 
with canvas that had once been white but was now dark 
yellow varied by lurid spots where nameless insects 
had been done to death. We were packed in as tight 
as herrings, a miscellaneous crowd of Tartars, Persians, 
Armenians, and a few Russians, alt of us more or less 
unclean, and all very perspiring. The heat was most 
oppressive and the atmosphere pestilential. After 
some further delay the train, consisting of two second 
and four third-class cars, half a dozen goods-vans, and 
several trucks, got under weigh. 

The scenery is very fine during the whole journey. 
The line, after traversing some vineyards and orchards, 
descends the Araxes valley to the south-east of 
Mount Ararat. This valley assumes the appearance 
of a continuation of the Erivan plain. It is of 
considerable width at first, although it becomes 
narrower after the first fifty miles, and ranges of 
mountains rise up on each side of the river. To the 
right is the wild chain of Zangezur, whose peaks, of 
many brilliant hues, assume fantastic shapes recalling 


256 [RE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


those of the Dolomites. On the opposite side beyond 
the Araxes are the Sokar Dagh and Khosan Dagh 
mountains in Persia, less bold and picturesque in form. 
The valley itself is of the same glorious colours as 
the Erivan plain, with those same wonderful grasses, 
golden sands of the desert, and little green oases of 


vineyards and 5 he country is even more 
desolate than that be \lexandropol and Erivan. 

The only signs ; ‘many miles are the rare 
caravans of can itations are few, but they 
make up for their by their strange names— 
Kamarliu, Ararat , Shakh-takh-ti, Bozbashi. 
For the most vconsist merely of a wooden 
shed and a log-hut. \e of them is nothing more 


than a couple of disused railway-vans, But there is 
always a large crowd, composed partly of passengers, 
with quantities of belongings wrapped up in bits of 
carpet or canvas, but chiefly of loafers, who come to 
gaze at the strange, fiery monster. The mixture of 
races is very considerable, but the Tartar and Persian 
elements become more and more prevalent the further 
south we proceed. There are also numerous Arme- 
nians, a few Georgians, Turks, and Kurds, and, of 
course, Russians. Cossacks and other soldiers are 
on duty at several stations, frontier guards and 
mounted police, and the ubiquitous blue-clad gen- 
darmes ; all the station-masters are Russians, and one 
meets a few other officials, and occasionally a com- 
mercial traveller. Tartar women also travel by train ; 
one lady gorgeously attired in a bright purple robe of 
silk, with satin shoes, and a veil so thick that she 
could not see at all, rode to the station on horseback, 


Ox THE Roap To Persia, Waysive STATION. 


Ox THE Roan To Persia. Sorpters at NcRASHEN: 


Jace page 258. 


RUSSIA'S NEW ROUTE TO PERSIA ~ 257 


her steed led by a retainer; she had a look at the 
train, and went off. At every station we see some 
Moslem gentlemen on prancing horses, a few queer- 
shaped carts, and in one place even a public con- 
veyance. There are a few villages along the line, 
even more primitive than those of the Karabagh 
steppe. Buffets are unknown—a strange omission in 
Russia—but at two stations we found small hovels 
where tea, wine, and mineral waters were obtainable, 
and in one there was even some meat of a most 
uninviting appearance; but the staple refreshments 
are eggs, huge melons, and grapes. Nowhere does 
the train stop less than half an hour, while at some 
halting-places it rests for over an hour. Consequently 
the journey of about eighty miles takes practically a 
whole day. The permanent way seems very badly laid, 
and of the flimsiest material, the trestle bridges, which 
will no doubt be replaced with stone viaducts, creak 
and groan and quiver most alarmingly as the train 
creeps across them. The whole line will have to be 
relaid, and every bridge rebuilt before heavy traffic 
and express trains can make use of it. 

We travel for some distance along the bank of the 
river, and gaze across at the Persian shore where 
neither house nor man nor camel are visible. The call 
of the East is almost irresistible, and we long to con- 
tinue our journey into the Shah's dominions. But 
this time it is not to be; ‘‘ce seva four une autre 
forts,” let us hope. On the Russian bank there are 
guard-houses and frontier-posts at fairly frequent 
intervals, and green-clad sentries appear on the tops of 
ridges above the stream. But I was told that in spite 


17 


258 RE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


of 2 precautions there is a vast amount of smug- 
gling. The Tartars have succeeded in getting hold 
of le + quantities of arms in this way, not always, it 
is sara, without the complicity of the Russian autho- 
rities. The Araxes is a broad, sluggish stream, thick 
with mud, and exhaling mosquitoes and malaria. Its 


waters might no “~ © ~  ilized for irrigation, and a 
much larger area ¢ on both banks be cultivated, 
for the soil is ver want of initiative on the 
partoftheinhab = wy) ot on that of both Govern- 
ments, and a total) § of security, has hindered 


all attempts of this ki On the one bank is a 
Government whichdoes le and does it badly, on the 
other one which does nothing at all and does it worse. 

The heat during the day had been very trying and 
the dust stifling. But towards sunset a cooler air 
sets in, and the landscape is all lit up with an exquisite 
golden glow. Mount Ararat has become a small and 
almost insignificant peak in the far distance. The 
valley again broadens out, and we leave the river a 
few miles to our right. The Zangezur peaks, the 
Kavjik, and the Kuki-dagh, in particular, are the 
most striking features of the landscape, huge isolated 
blocks rising straight up out of the plain. There is 
our goal approaching, Nakhitchevan. From a dis- 
tance it looks attractive and pleasant, a little white 
township built on rising ground nestling amidst trees 
and greenery, with its slender minarets pointing sky- 
wards. By the time we arrive it is almost night, 
and an indigo pall has descended over the land. 
We look forward to streets intersected with cool 
streams, and mosques with shady courts and plashing 


RUSSIA’S NEW ROUTE TO PERSIA 259 


fountains. But what a disappointment is in store for 
us! There seems to be no station, for the sheds are 
several hundred yards away from where the train stops. 
The moment we put our feet out of the car, they sink 
deep down into the dust. The whole of the wide 
open space is thick with dust, such dust as I have 
never seen or dreamed of in my most hideous night- 
mares. Every vehicle or horse that moves raises 
clouds of it which penetrate into the innermost 
recesses of one’s being. As usual there are crowds of 
people about, wild confusion, and very few cabs ; these 
are promptly seized by some of the more canny 
travellers, and we are left cabless and forlorn. Even- 
tually a wretched “xyezka was raised—a knife-board 
between two pairs of wheels. Our belongings having 
been fastened with bits of string, we got on to it 
ourselves. We literally waded through dust, and 
everything in our bags as well as our clothes was soon 
white. We were driven slowly up a steep incline on a 
road that was no road, between high mud walls above 
which the ghostly forms of tall poplars stood out 
against the sky. Suddenly there is loud shouting ; a 
group of wild-looking Tartars in white skull caps and 
variegated costumes dash past us. We are nearly 
upset at the turn of the road, and cannot see four 
yards ahead on account of the dust and darkness. 
We pass through the Tartar quarter, across a bridge 
spanning something that may be a river or a gully, 
then some better-built houses, a large church, and at 
last the inn. 

Nakhitchevan will be reserved for another chapter, 
but a few more words on the railway are required. 


IRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


When we were in that part of the country the train 
service ceased at Nakhitchevan, but the line had 
been continued to Djulfa on the Araxes, about 25 
versts (15 miles) further on, and trains are now 
running the whole way. Here, for the present, the 
railway will have its terminus, and it will probably 


be a long time! bridge across the Araxes 
and the line to | be commenced. Djulfa 
is now a little thousand inhabitants, but_ 
it had a po 100 in the XVII. century, 
when it was ¢ important trading centres 
of the Middle ng to some writers it gave 
its name to the 1. in Venice, a little street 
where goods from « € supposed to have been 


stored, and it is frequently mentioned by old travellers 
in their accounts of journeys to Persia w@ Tabriz. 
At the time of the rivalry between Persia and Turkey, 
the Persian Shah Abbas wished to create a desert 
in the country between his own territories and those 
of his enemies. The people of Djulfa were ordered to 
emigrate e” masse into the interior of Persia, and the 
town of New Djulfa was founded near Ispahan for 
their benefit. Those who did not leave with suffi- 
cient haste were thrown into the river, and Djulfa 
was subsequently razed to the ground. All that 
survives of the old city are some towers and the 
remains of an ancient stone bridge. 

Now it is reviving. The building of the carriage 
road from the Persian shore opposite to Tabriz pro- 
moted traffic on this erstwhile abandoned trade 
route, and the completion of the railway from Tiflis 
will undoubtedly promote traffic still more. For the 


RUSSIA'S NEW ROUTE TO PERSIA 261 


present, however, trade for Teheran and Eastern and 
Southern Persia will continue to go vzé Baku and Resht, 
as there is no carriage road from Tabriz to Teheran. 
But the whole commerce of the Azerbajan province 
(North-Western Persia) is bound to come more and 
more under Russian control. 

The distances from Moscow to the Persian frontier 
(by rail) are as follows :— 


Moscow-Rostoff-on-the-Don ... .. 1,365 versts. 
Rostoff-Baladjary eee wes we «= sd 22T og, 
Baladjary-Tiflis eee vee eee 502 ,, 
Tiffis-Ulukhanlu vee wes wee 344 155 
Ulukhanlu-Djulfa vee ... (about) 145 ,, 

Total ... +s 35377 OF 2,200 miles. 


The return journey from Nakhitchevan was an 
even more trying experience than the outward trip. 
If we travelled second-class in coming, we had to go 
third on the way back as the seconds were full. At 
first we were not uncomfortable, for the bare boards 
were cleaner than the cushions, and the guard pro- 
mised to keep us alone in our half compartment. We 
made friends with a pleasant young gendarme who 
was escorting his fiancée to Erivan and occupied the 
next compartment to ours. But first we lost our 
provisions, and insufficiently boiled eggs and unripe 
fruit remained our only sustenance. Then at a way- 
side station our car was invaded by Asiatic hordes, 
with their inevitable huge bundles tied up in filthy 
cloths that we suspected must contain the rampant 
germs of a dozen unspeakable Eastern diseases ; of 
course they came during the very hottest part of the 


262 (RE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


day. The problem which loomed before us now was 
how to get back to Erivan that night. The train 
was due at Ulukhanlu exactly an hour after the Tiflis 
train had left, and there was the same impossibility 
of getting to Erivan in any way as there was of 
getting from Erivan to Ulukhanlu. Even the 
Etchmiadzin refuge was cut off because we should 
only reach the station about midnight, and one cannot 
drive at night in the ( asus. But there was one 
opening. The last static | before the junction was 
Kamarliu, where we were due at 5 p.m.; an Armenian 
friend assured us that there we could get a carriage to 
convey us to Erivan in about two and a half or three 
hours. Unfortunately the train was an hour and a 
half late, and when we had descended at Kamarliu 
with our numerous belongings, the station-master 
told us that as it would be ten o'clock before we 
reached Erivan and the road was not considered safe 
after dark, no driver would convey us across country. 
Expostulation, bribes, and abuse being in vain, we 
hurried back to the train and eventually reached that 
cursed Ulukhanlu junction once more. The guard 
told us that a goods train from Tiflis was expected 
that night, in which we might return to Erivan. 
At Ulukhanlu no one could tell us when the éovarny 
potezd (goods train) was due. The supercilious young 
lady in the telegraph office (why are the young ladies 
of the telegraph always supercilious, whether it be in 
St. Martin’s-le-Grand or in the Araxes valley?) said 
it might be in at ten, or eleven, or twelve, or even 
later, or it might not arrive at all. The situation 
seemed hopeless ; a glance and a whiff at the waiting- 


Ox THE Roan io Pegsia. THe OLD Metnops oF CosvevaNck AND THE NEw. 


NAkMIICHEVAN SIATION, DEPARTURE PLATFORM, 


To face page 263. 


RUSSIA’S NEW ROUTE TO PERSIA 263 


room convinced us of the physical impossibility of 
passing the night there. Then I went out in search 
of forage, for we were starving. A wild rumour reached 
us that there was a buffet somewhere about, and at 
last we discovered it. It was a small wooden shed, 
but it was spotlessly clean; it had long tables with 
cloths, and an abundance of good food and wine. 
“T had almost forgotten that such places existed,” 
was G. B.’s remark on contemplating this palatial 
eating-house. We fed sumptuously, after which life 
assumed a more cheerful complexion. The wretched 
tovarny povezd was still a mystery, but our friend the 
gendarme held out further hope; a military train 
from Alexandropol was expected, and if we asked 
nicely we might be allowed to travel in it. The 
station-master said mzel/zya (impossible), but we 
determined to try, and sure enough at about 10.30 
in steamed the military train. I rushed down the 
platform and asked the colonel if he would allow us 
as a special favour to travel in that train to Erivan. 
He was most friendly and said: ‘There is the officers’ 
carriage, go and fetch your things and come in.” | 
summoned G. B. and a porter, and we were .soon 
comfortably installed, the officers giving up the two 
best places to us. 

The Russian officer is a strange contrast. When 
one reads of his cruelty and brutality, even if only 
half of what is written is true, he seems to be 
utterly devoid of any sense of humanity. Yet when 
one meets him and talks to him he is often a most 
perfect gentleman and a charming fellow in every 
way. 


264 RE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


Even now our tribulations were not quite ended; 
for on reaching Erivan at midnight, as our train was 
not a passenger one, there were no cabs, and we had to 
wait a long time before a few appeared on the scene. 
Here we did a piece of politeness of which we after- 
wards repented. Seeing that our gendarme friend and 


his fiancée were 2d, we asked him if the 
young lady would c iriven to her house in our 
cab. He thanl rely and accepted ; a few 
minutes later ad said that he had found 
a vehicle, but as everal people in it, there 
was not room for fgage, so would we mind 
taking some of it? ed, expecting a couple of 
bags or perhaps a su . Instead of which first 


came a huge basket trunk occupying the whole of the 
floor of the cab; next an even larger bundle wrapped 
up in a sheet; then a couple of bulky bags, some 
cardboard bonnet-boxes, a sewing-machine, and finally 
the gendarme’s own rifle. This in addition to our- 
selves and own things! Our somewhat ramshackle 
conveyance staggered under the weight. The road 
being very bad we could hardly get along at all and 
nearly broke down several times ; once, much to our 
delight, the sewing-machine fell off, and although we 
stopped to pick it up, we hoped that its constitution 
was irretrievably injured. It was nearly 1 a.m. when 
we reached the Hotel d’Orient, which, after our past 
experiences, seemed almost like a Ritz establishment. 


Nakwircnevas. Sonpirks 1s rum Bazan. 


To"face age 265, 


CHAPTER XIV 
NAKHITCHEVAN AND THE MAY MASSACRES 


HIS remote little town on the Persian border, 

like Djulfa, has played a part in the history of 

the land in past centuries. To-day it is again to the 
fore as one of the chief centres of the Tartar-Armenian 
conflict and the scene of what was perhaps the most 
abominable massacre since the outbreaks began. I 
spent several days visiting the town and the neighbour- 
hood, which gave me a clearer idea of this great racial 
feud than I had obtained either at Baku or at Tiflis. 
In the two latter places the issues are more complex ; 
at Baku social and labour problems are mixed up 
with racial and religious hatred, and the situation is 
further complicated by the presence of large numbers 
of Russians, and by the activity of the Social-Demo- 
cratic party ; at Tiflis all the various Caucasian races 
are represented, but the Tartars are not numerous; 
only quite recently have Tartar-Armenian disturbances 
occurred there at all. But in the Nakhitchevan dis- 
trict the two races are face to face, and the question 
appears divested of extraneous issues. Nor are the 
Armenian Committees at all active, and there are no 


Tartar “intellectuals.” 
965 


206 RE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


Na iitchevan-on-the-Araxes* is a very ancient 
town. It was founded according to the local tradition 
by Noah, after he had planted the first vine on the 
slopes of Mount Ararat. It is mentioned by Ptolemy 
as Naxouana. In the Middle Ages and in more recent 
times it was an important place, and when all this part 


of the country wa dominion of the Persian 
Shahs, Nakhitch: uled by vassal khans of 
great po In 1829 Russia, after 
her last w received Nakhitchevan, 
together wit] he treaty of Turkoman 
Chai. The Arn ed the same ré/ in this 
conquest as they I that of other parts of the 


Caucasus, and it was\ ely through their action that 
the local princes were dispossessed. But if the khans 
no longer actually rule they are still very wealthy and 
exercise enormous influence over the rest of the 
Moslem community, who have looked on them as 
their natural leaders for centuries. Various members 
of the princely family, which bears the Russified 
cognomen of Nakhitchevansky, have entered the 
Russian public services, chiefly the army. To-day 
Djafar Kuli Khan Nakhitchevansky, an ex-officer, is 
Mayor of the town, while his brother Raghim Khan 
has also been in the State service, and is a man of 
great local authority. 

In character Nakhitchevan is quite Persian.t The 


* There is another Nakhitchevan on the Don, a suburb of Rostoff, 
founded by Armenian refugees from the Caucasus in 1780 (see 
p. 146), and a village of the same name near Kars. 

+ The Tartars having no civilization of their own, imitated that of 
Persia, just as the Turks adopted an imitation of Arab culture. 


THE MAY MASSACRES 267 


mud walls, the architecture, the life, the general 
appearance of the streets, make of it almost a 
prolongation of the neighbouring Empire. Little of 
the ancient city survives, save the ruins of a palace, 
and the curious old “tower of the khans,” a twelve- 
sided building. On its walls is an inscription in large 
blue letters, which if set out would develop a length of 
450 metres.* It is built on an eminence in the middle 
of the valley of the Araxes, which here broadens 
out into a very large plain surrounded by bold, high 
mountains. There are many trees, two public gardens 
of the usual Russian type, and a swift torrent which 
divides the town into two parts. Nearly all the houses 
are of a flimsy construction ; even the mosques are of 
wood and mud. But the place is very picturesque, 
and would not be unpleasant but for the dust, which, 
as I said before, is appalling. I never realized so 
thoroughly before the meaning of Gilbert’s immortal 
verses about the place ‘‘ where the dust of an earthy 
to-day is the earth of a dusty to-morrow.” 
Nakhitchevan is the capital of a district in the 
government of Erivan. The population of the town 
amounts to about 8,000, of whom three-quarters 
are Tartars and one-quarter Armenians. In the rest 
of the district there is rather less disproportion 
between the two races, which amount to 65,000 and 
33,000 respectively. As at Erivan, the Tartars are 
wealthier than the Armenians, and own nearly all 
the land, whereas the bulk of the Armenians are 
peasants on Tartar properties or on those of the 
State. A small proportion have land of their own, 
* Elysée Réclus, Geographie Universelle. 


268 tE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


divi into small plots, and a few thousands are 
scatte | about in the town and the larger villages 
engag: in commercial pursuits. At Nakhitchevan 
itself n arly all the house property is in Tartar hands, 
and even the Armenian shops in the bazaar are built 
on land belonging to Tartars. The two brothers 


Nakhitcheva ; tgest landowners in the 
district. 

This rt is exceedingly wild and 
unruly. 1 is weakly upheld by a 
tiny force of : d between Nakhitchevan 
itself and the um which was even smaller 
before the recent Public safety has never 
been assured, and vere almost daily occur- 


rences in the rural districts. The Tartar khans and 
begs are oppressive landlords, especially towards their 
Armenian peasants, and some of them are little 
better than brigand chiefs, keeping armed bands of 
retainers who regularly “forage” for them. It is 
said that certain begs live almost entirely by plunder, 
and many villagers certainly do. If the outrages and 
oppression to which the Armenians had been subjected 
in Persian times were no longer so violent and redress 
was sometimes obtainable before the Russian courts, 
yet life was anything but pleasant for them. It was 
only in trade that they had the advantage over the 
Tartars, although in the primitive conditions obtaining 
in this part of the world commerce could not play an 
important 7é/e, and the more energetic and enter- 
prising Armenians usually emigrated to Tiflis, Baku, 
Elizavetpol, or to European Russia, where there was 
more scope for their activities. There are certain 


THE MAY MASSACRES 269 


villages whose inhabitants have all emigrated at one 
time or another and returned home wealthy. Even the 
Tartars themselves, who did not happen to be either 
large landowners or brigands, suffered from the pre- 
vailing anarchy. 

After the Baku outbreak in February the agitation 
among the Tartars spread to Nakhitchevan, and grew 
more and more acute; like their Baku co-religionists, 
the local Moslems thought that the policy of the 
Russian Government was a plain encouragement for 
them to fallon the Armenians. They were all more or 
less armed, but their weapons were not always of the 
latest patterns. They set about to make good the 
deficiency, and through the early spring consignment 
after consignment of arms were smuggled in, chiefly 
from Persia. It is said that they were in communica- 
tion with the Azerbajan Tartars and Kurds over the 
border, and that even in the matter of religion they 
were more influenced by Persia mujtazds than by the 
then local mullahs whom they regarded as mere 
Russian officials. The Armenians had far fewer arms, 
most of the peasants possessing &znza/s only, for they 
never expected a general attack.* 

During the month of April the situation became 
critical, and the Armenians applied to the Russian 
authorities for protection. The District Governor, M. 

* For the account of the Nakhitchevan troubles I am indebted to 
information supplied by the Archimandrites Mesrop and Karapet 
Ter-Mkrtchian, who were eye-witnesses, and contained in their 
reports to the Viceroy, and by that given by other Armenian and 
Tartar notables, as well as to corroborative evidence obtained from 


two of the foreign contractors working on the Nakhitchevan railway 
and other impartial sources. 


270 RE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 

Enkel, a Finn, and his assistant, M. Gogoberidze, a 
Geo: _ in, were bitterly anti-Armenian; the mayor, most 
of the. 1inor officials and magistrates, and all the police 
were themselves Tartars so that there was little to be 
hoped from them. The Erivan authorities were hardly 
of more assistance, and the Vice-Governor, M. Tara- 


novsky, did not) \rmenophobe bias. The 
number of murder; ilarming proportions, and 
the Armenians that a general attack on 
them by the »ssible. On the 20th of 
May the Armeni: ints closed their shops. 
Three days later wernor of Erivan arrived 
together with | ; Khan, the mayor of Na- 
khitchevan, and on . hey were followed by the 


Archmandrite Karapet, and M. Melik-Agamaloff, the 
Armenian mayor of Erivan; with the object of paci- 
fying the population, they consulted the Armenian 
notables. ‘“M. Taranovsky, the mayor of Nakhit- 
chevan, and his brother Raghim reassured the 
Armenians, the former in the name of the public 
force, the two latter on account of their influence 
with the Tartars, and insisted that the Armenian 
merchants should open their shops.” * 

The next morning, May 25th, the Armenian mer- 
chants, trusting in these assurances, reopened their 
shops atg a.m. The small force of soldiers stationed 
in the town had gone out into the country some miles 
distant, for shooting practice. Suddenly, bands of 
armed Tartars appeared from all sides, and rushed 
into the bazar, where they proceeded to set fire to 


* Official report by Archimandrite Mesrop to the Viceroy of 
the Caucasus. 


NAKHITCHEVAN. CORPSES OF ARMENIANS AFTER THR MAY MASSACRE. 


Photo by Grigoriants, 


» face page 270. 


al 


i 


Ss 


Naxiutcevay. A Sian MULLAH. 


To face page 271. 


THE MAY MASSACRES 271 


and plunder the Armenian shops and murder every 
Armenian who showed himself. A circumstance 
which proves that the plot had long been arranged 
beforehand is the fact that the assailants were divided 
into four parties, each of which had definite duties 
assigned to it; one was to attack and kill the 
Armenians, another was to plunder and burn the 
shops, a third was to remove the plunder in carts, which 
were kept ready for the purpose, while a fourth was 
to attend to the Tartar killed and wounded (if any). 
The actual leader of the Tartars was a certain Assad 
Aga Kingerlinsky, a most notorious scoundrel.* It 
is said that bands of Tartars from over the border 
crossed the Araxes and took part in the operations. 
A foreign resident told me that some actually came, 
but were driven back by the troops before they could 
do much mischief.t The Armenians were completely 
taken by surprise; few of them had firearms, and 
there was no time to concentrate or organize resist- 
ance against this ferocious onslaught. One Armenian 
merchant, the richest in the town, was in his own shop 
at the time, together with his clerks; the building was 
set on fire, and he and the other inmates were suffo- 
cated. Their bodies were afterwards sprinkled with 
kerosene and burnt by the infuriated Tartars ; others 
were roasted alive. Out of 195 Armenian shops in 
the bazar, 180 were completely plundered, twenty 
safes were broken open and their contents stolen. 


* He was afterwards murdered at Batum. 

+ A Russian officer declared that in the subsequent encounters in 
the district between the troops and the Tartars those from Persia 
were the fiercest fighters. They were distinguished by metal badges. 


272 RE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


It is said that among the papers destroyed were 
various documents relating to large sums of money 
lent to prominent Tartars by an Armenian merchant 
who was himself one of the victims. Murder and 
arson are in the Araxes valley recognized means 
of getting rid of unpleasant obligations. After being 


plundered some ~ ~ ps were set on fire, but 
as the flames thi o to envelop the Tartar 
shops, they inguished. The carnage 
lasted thre ich some fifty Armenians 
were killed Ls ded; of the Tartars only 
three or four The total value of the 
goods plundered p00 roubles (£125,000), 
of which a sn ion, valued at 16,600 


roubles, has since been returned. The stolen goods 
were hidden away in the houses of various prominent 
Tartars both in Nakhitchevan and the neighbourhood. 
It was clear that although the original cause of the 
outbreak was racial hatred, the desire for plunder 
played no small part in bringing it about. 

What happened at Nakhitchevan was repeated 
on similar lines in other parts of the district. Out 
of a total of fifty-two villages with an Armenian 
or mixed Armeno-Tartar population, the official 
reports mention forty-seven in which Armenians 
were killed and wounded or their houses plundered 
and burnt. The Tartar villagers from the whole 
countryside rose on May 25th in concert with 
those of the town and from Persia and attacked 
their Armenian neighbours. Here are a few items 
characteristic of the events of May and June:— 

TazaKENT, suburb of Nakhitchevan. Armenian 


Smunoug wopaop “fhe Sot 
MayUVAVEYN, S00} SLsMIEZ AOVTTA RVTERIERY, SSVINY AHL to IW ay, “VASILE 


THE MAY MASSACRES 273 


quarter attacked and completely plundered; two 
persons wounded, and 33,000 roubles’ worth of goods 
stolen, of which a part were afterwards returned. 

Hapjipar. Completely plundered, including the 
church ; twelve houses burnt, five persons killed, 
four wounded, property worth 50,000 roubles 
carried off. 

Oxuary-Uzum. The church and every house 
plundered, two men killed, 40,000 roubles’ worth 
of property stolen. 

NazARABAD. The church and every house 
plundered and some burnt, two men killed, plunder 
worth 107,000 roubles carried off. 

Dyacry (a mixed village). Armenian quarter 
totally plundered, church desecrated and _ sacked, 
four houses and eight shops burnt, fifty-one persons 
killed and thirteen wounded, plunder worth 393,000 
roubles stolen. 

KHAL-KHAL. The church and all the houses 
sacked, two men wounded, 67,000 roubles’ worth of 
plunder removed. 

AvaG6z-Mazra. Completely plundered, six houses 
burnt, two persons killed, four wounded, plunder 
worth 82,000 roubles. 

KaraBaBA. Church and village sacked, two killed, 
plunder worth 44,000 roubles. 

ArinDJ. Completely sacked, two killed, plunder 
worth 103,000 roubles. 

Guinpjazor. Completely sacked, two _ killed, 
plunder worth 73,000 roubles. 

Nors-Mazra. Completely sacked, fifty killed, 
plunder worth 19,000 roubles. 

18 


274 NRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 

G axpyarapjur. Completely sacked, three killed, 
plu: er worth 47,000 roubles. 

1: put. Thirty-nine houses plundered and 
partly burnt, twenty persons killed, nine wounded. 

Asrakunis. Sixty houses sacked, of which six 
were burnt; plunder worth 20,000 roubles. 


Out of forty-s es attacked, nineteen were 
destroyed and i by their inhabitants, ten 
partly dest t abandoned, and from 
eighteen the carried off. The total of 
killed in the llage amount to 239, and 
that of the we fty-nine (without counting 
the slightly + nd the total plunder is 
estimated at 2,0¢ bles (about £280,000). 


The reason why the Tartars succeeded so admir- 
ably in the villages is that the Armenian peasants 
were nearly all unarmed. In the case of the few 
villages where the inhabitants had arms the Tartars 
were repulsed with loss; one or two others, such as 
Sheikh-Mahmud, where arms were known to be, 
gave shelter to refugees from elsewhere, and were not 
disturbed. One Tartar village, Itkran, was afterwards 
attacked by armed Armenians out of revenge, and 
thirty-six persons killed. Isolated murders, outrages, 
and robbery continued since that fatal 25th of May, 
and the villagers have had in many cases to abandon 
their harvests, as they dared not reap them from fear 
of being attacked. 

As to the responsibility for these atrocities, it rests 
in the first place with the Tartars, and secondly with 
Russian authorities who neglected to take measures 
for the protection of the Armenians. It cannot be 


THE MAY MASSACRES 275 


denied that the blood-guiltiness is largely on the 
heads of the khans and begs, the natural leaders of 
the Moslem community. It was universally admitted 
by all impartial people that if the brothers Nakhi- 
tchevansky had raised a finger the outbreak would 
have ceased instantly, for they exercise an almost 
absolute influence over their co-religionists. | 
myself realized this on talking to Tartars of the 
lower class, who spoke of the Nakhitchevanskys 
almost with veneration. But they never moved. 
The events of Nakhitchevan created a profound 
impression throughout the country, which eventually 
reached St. Petersburg. The Armenians realized 
more than ever the necessity for arming, and the 
Russian Government began to feel that something 
must be done to restore order in this anarchical 
district. The usual remedy was resorted to—the 
province was placed under martial law and a 
Governor-General appointed. Count Vorontzoff- 
Dashkoff had only recently arrived in the Caucasus, 
and had not had time to take stock of the situation. 
The appointment fell on General Alikhanoff Avarsky, 
of Pendjeh fame. Alikhanoff is a Tartar himself, and 
a brother-in-law of Raghim Khan Nakhitchevansky, 
in whose house he actually took up his residence 
while in the town, so that the Armenians hardly 
dared to approach him! A more characteristic 
example of the fatuous policy of the bureaucracy 
could hardly be conceived. Instead of redressing 
wrongs and punishing the guilty, his mere presence 
was a direct encouragement to the Tartars in their 
truculent attitude. Even to Alikhanoff himself, a man 


276 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


of ability and culture and a devoted public servant 
the position cannot have been a pleasant one. Coun 
Vorontzoff-Dashkoff saw that the situation remainec 
very serious, and on leaving Tiflis for Kislovodsh 
in the early summer he sent Prince Napoleon tc 
Erivan as Governor-General. One of the Prince’: 


first acts was 1 Alikhanoff and to visi! 
Nakhitchevan His arrival inspired fai 
more ci impartiality was obvious t¢ 
all. Bodi ‘sited various parts of the 
district, and dus encounters with Tartai 
bands. But leon did not wholly pacify 
the country, because he had not suffi: 
cient powers or fo1 ne other reason,* he failec 


to punish the guilty Tartars. He assured the 
Armenians that the murderers should be punished. 
and he ordered the Tartars to give up their plunder 
But at the time of my visit, although four months hac 
elapsed since the outbreak, no one was in prison foi 
the events of May, except the village stavosta o 
Djagry, who had actually been seen leading a banc 
of Tartars to plunder the Armenian houses. Of the 
plunder only the merest trifle was restored, the 
murders continued, and the only improvement wa: 
due to the fact that the troops had been increased 
and that their presence prevented a recurrence of the 
outbreaks. 

As a specimen of the language used by the mullahs 
the following passage, reported in the Razsvzet of St 


* At the Tiflis police department I was told that the Prince ha 
full powers, but would not use them ; while Colonel von der Nonne 
the Prince’s Chief of the Staff, absolutely denied this. 


THE MAY MASSACRES 277 


Petersburg (June 19/July 2, 1905) is characteristic, if 
genuine : 

‘The Tartar mullahs Musan, his sons, Mamad 
Taghi and Alshafor, and Mashadi-Mamad-Hadji- 
Kerim, said: ‘In any case we shall not leave a single 
Armenian alive, we shall kill them all, the more so 
as the Government does not punish us for it, soldiers 
and all that—it only exists for show, if by the grace 
of Allah we quickly make an end of the Armenians— 
then we shall raise all Iran and drive even the 
Russians out, uniting the Caucasus to the domina- 
tion of our powerful Lord the Shah. Soon, glory be 
to Allah, at Tiflis the red standard of Pan-Islamism 
will be raised before the Governor's palace. This 
land belonged to Iran before and must belong to it 
again.’ ” * 

Our first impression of Nakhitchevan, as the reader 
will have gathered, was not an agreeable one, and | 
cannot say that better acquaintance corrected it. The 
inn was a most curious place. It was extremely 
small, very dirty, and quite elemental. Our tiny 
rooms were fearfully hot and stuffy, and looked into 
an untidy courtyard ; we were kept awake until a late 
hour by the excited conversations going on in the 
dining-room (this alone is a sign of Russian domina- 
tion, for nowhere in the Tzar’s dominions do people 
go to bed early). And yet in the midst of all this 
barbarism our dirty beds were supplied with the latest 
thing in spring-mattresses, and at breakfast rancid 
butter was served up in an English butter-cooler ! 


* It is quoted in a little pamphlet (in Russian) by G. Chalkushian 
on Zhe Armenian Question and the Armenian Pogromy in Russia. 


278 1TRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


1 first person on whom I called was the Archi- 
mandrite Mesrop, in charge of the spiritual needs of 
the  rmenian community, and its natural leader. 
He occupied a small house near the Armenian 
church, a large stone building. A number of booths 
had been erec’ ** ~*~ “sch enclosure to serve as a 


new bazar jans, who were afraid to 
return to the 4 was in the midst of the 
Tartar quart ‘esrop could speak good 
Germa for educated at Dorpat, and 
was altog : man. I was much struck 
with his in ter having given me his 
views on the : oncluded, “ But you must 


not hear our side only. As you are a foreigner 
seeking for information, I strongly advise ydu to call 
on the Tartar khans as well and learn what they have 
to say.” 

I subsequently explored the bazar, and the Arme- 
nians, professing themselves very solicitous for my 
safety, gave me a couple of youths as a body- 
guard; not that it was necessary, for I afterwards 
wandered about the town alone and was never 
molested. I was shown the many Armenian shops 
“plundered to cleanliness,” as the Russians say, a 
few burnt houses, and other signs of the devastations. 
A few Cossacks and infantry were about, and a 
number of Tartar policemen. Otherwise life seemed 
to be proceeding much as usual. In the boulevard I 
saw an aged mullah, and my companions, who inter- 
preted for me, asked him in Tartar if he minded 
being photographed. He willingly assented, for the 
Shiahs have not the same objection to the process as 


Grou oF ARMENIAN VILLAGERS AT NAZARABAD. PRIEST IN THE FOREGROUND. 
Photo by J. Gordon Browne, 


To face page 278. 


THE MAY MASSACRES | 279 


the Sunnis. When wandering about alone I wished 
to walk out to a spot whence I thought I could obtain 
a good view of the neighbourhood ; as I was going 
past some farm-buildings a tall, good-looking Tartar 
peasant called out to me in Russian, asking where I 
was going. On my replying that I wished to reach 
the hill opposite, he said— 

“You must not go this way, for there are biting 
dogs. But wait; I will go with you.” 

He thereupon came out of his way to escort me 
past the haunts of the dangerous canines, and then 
bade me farewell with a dignified salutation worthy 
of a Spanish cavalier. If I have some hard things to 
say of the Tartars, I cannot deny that their manners 
are most attractive ; the courtesy even of the peasants 
is princely, and quite explains their popularity with 
foreigners. 

_ I did not neglect Father Mesrop’s advice, but went 
to call on the brothers Nakhitchevansky. I first 
visited Raghim Khan, and what I have said of the 
Tartar peasant applies still more strongly to this man. 
He is a true grand seigneur, a typical Mohammedan 
feudal lord, owner of wide lands and master of many 
peasants, both Armenian and Tartar. His house is 
by far and away the finest in Nakhitchevan, and 
would, indeed, not be out of place even in a more 
civilized city. It 1s situated on the outskirts of the 
town, at the edge of a cliff overlooking the broad 
plain of the Araxes. The garden in front of it is 
not very flourishing, for the climate is probably 
unsuited to the cultivation of flowers. But internally 
the house is quite splendid. The drawing-room is 


280 RE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


filled with expensive European furniture, not always 
in the best style, but very gorgeous; the floors and 
walls are covered with Persian, Turkish, and Cauca- 
sian ca pets of the richest description ; the ceiling is 
a mosaic of little pieces of looking-glass, like that of 
the Sardars’ kiosk at Erivan. The decorations, the 
upholstering, the ornam ts, have all been brought 
from a great distance befor, the days of the railway, 


and fitted up 1 cost, with a view to im- 
pressing people » importance, wealth, and 
dignity of the ansky family. Raghim 
Khan himself isa de of middle height, not as 
handsome as many have met, but with a fine 


gentlemanly bearing ana a pleasing manner. He was 
attired in the uniform of a Russian official, although 
he has now retired from the public service. He is 
better educated than most Tartars, and has travelled 
a good deal in Russia and in foreign countries ; 
he knows Russian perfectly, but speaks no Western 
tongue. Although I bore no introduction he received 
me with the utmost courtesy and an outspoken frank- 
ness which surprised me. He is every inch a khan, 
and bears the outward impress of being the descen- 
dant of a long line of rulers over a storm-swept land. 
I put to him a few “leading questions” as to the 
Tartar-Armenian strife, to which he at once replied 
by launching forth into an eloquent discourse. 

“Do you want to know the real state of affairs?” 
he asked me. “Very well, I shall tell you all about 
it. I shall only tell you the absolute truth, When 
the Russian Government confiscated the lands of the 
Armenian Church and closed its schools, the Arme- 


THE MAY MASSACRES 281 


nian revolutionary committees became very active, 
and tried to enlist our support on behalf of their 
movement. But we Tartars are peaceful people, 
loyal to our Tzar, and refused to listen to them. 
Whereupon the Armenians proceeded to threaten us, 
saying that if we did not help them we should be 
killed. They distributed menacing proclamations and 
pictures of Djon-jidats (Armenian revolutionists who 
have sworn to die for their country), armed to the 
teeth, and told the Tartars that they had large stores 
of bombs and rifles. As the Tartars still persisted in 
their refusal the Armenians fell on them, and assassi- 
nated a great number. The Armenians have long 
been arming; in every Armenian house there are 
two or three Berdanki,* and in the whole district of 
Nakhitchevan there are from three to four thousand 
Mausers in Armenian hands. Every village of five 
hundred inhabitants has at least a hundred rifles. 
They obtained them from Armenian ex-soldiers, or 
even from the Cossacks and from the Arsenal, for 
Government officials are always open to bribes. The 
Tartars, on the other hand, had hardly any weapons 
at all except Azxja/s and a few revolvers. But the 
Armenians are cowards. They never attack an 
armed Tartar unless they are in overwhelming num- 
bers, and even then they prefer to hide behind a 
bush or a rock. As for the May outbreak, it is all 
humbug; it began with an attack by the Armenians 
on the Tartars in the bazar, the Armenians being 
armed with rifles, the Tartars defending themselves 
with £znjals. Then our people managed to get a few 
* Berdan rifles formerly used in the Russian army. 


IRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


rifles ind revolvers, and a rumour was spread abroad 
that, y brother, Djafar Kuli Khan, and I had been 
murdered ; this aroused the Tartars to a frenzy, and 
seizing every weapon they could find, they fell on the 
Armenians and killed several. You may think me 
prejudiced,” he added. “but go and ask F——, the 


Austrian r vay who has lived here so 
many years, s] 1 every word I said.” 
On my Armenian who had. been 
burnt in his said that what had hap- 
pened was as f the riots broke out the 
merchant shut de atters of his shop, and as 
it was dark he , which he inadvertently 


dropped on a pile or papers ; these caught fire, and 
the premises were soon in a blaze; the inmates were 
asphyxiated. 

I next hinted at the burning and plundering of 
Armenian villages and the desecration of their 
churches. “Do you know how that happened?” 
asked Raghim. “ The Armenians themselves burnt 
their own houses and desecrated their own churches, so 
as to throw the blame on us! The Tartars never 
burnt villages nor killed women and children, as the 
Armenians did in the Tartar village of Itkran.” 

The khan admitted that after the May riots the 
Tartars had begun to arm—purely in self-defence, of 
course—and had obtained rifles from Persia, paying 
as much as 100 roubles for weapons worth only 20, 
or had taken them from the Armenians at the time 
of the outbreak. He went on to speak of the Arme- 
nians in general as a set of bloodthirsty and blood- 
sucking scoundrels, cowards, assassins, and swindlers. 


Nuraswen, Armenian Cuuncu Sackzn ap Dusecratep sy THe TARTARS, 
Phole by a Nakhitchevan Pholographer. 


face page 282, 


THE MAY MASSACRES 283 


Their wealth, according to him, is enormous, and has 
its origin in the fact that during the war of 1877 they 
issued 96,000,000 roubles of forged notes ; now they 
maintain it by going into business in Moscow and 
other towns, and after accumulating large sums they 
become bankrupt, leaving their creditors and non- 
Armenian partners ruined. To my question as to 
the Pan-Islamic movement, of which the Armenians 
make so much, he replied that there is such bitterness 
between Sunnis and Shiahs that there can be no 
possible basis for common action between the two 
sects. ‘There is more chance of a union between . 
Tartars and Armenians,” he said, ‘than between 
Sunnis and Shiahs.” He concluded by stating that 
the Government was largely to blame. This is the 
one point on which Tartars and Armenians agree. 

I left Raghim’s house much edified by my conver- 
sation, for if what I heard from the worthy Tartar 
cannot be taken exactly as a contribution to recent 
Caucasian history, it was a most interesting revela- 
tion of the Tartar mind, and incidentally showed 
what contempt he has for the judgment and discrimi- 
nating power of the Western stranger. 

I also visited Raghim’s brother, Djafar Kuli Khan, 
the mayor. He too lives in a palatial dwelling richly 
furnished, though less beautifully situated than that of 
Raghim. He has served in the Russian army, and 
was attired in a ¢cherkesska. He is very handsome, 
and has the same Oriental dignity as his brother, but 
he was more reticent in his speech, and although 
equally bitter against the Armenians he was less 
reckless in his statements. 


234 tE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


1: District Governor, M. Enkel, was away, and 
from his assistant I obtained very little information. 
Far more interesting was my visit to the foreign 
railway contractor to whom Raghim Khan had 
directed me in order to have confirmation of his own 
statements. I found him at home early one morning, 


a burly, good-n tly Austrian who talked 
German with a lese accent; his wife, a 
German Bohem verything that a good 
Hlausfrau shor 's a pleasant change to 
be among “wl ace more, and it made 
me realize how the differences between 
Englishmen, Gi lians, and Frenchmen, 


when compared with wuse vetween West Europeans 
and Orientals. Herr F. , when questioned as to 
the events of last May, instead of confirming the 
Tartar version, described the occurrence almost 
exactly as I had heard it from Armenian sources. 
His report on the Tartars in general and on the 
khans and begs in particular was the reverse of 
flattering. 

Before leaving Nakhitchevan G. B. and I wished 
to make a tour through some of the villages where 
there had been recent fighting. It was a very 
instructive experience, and gave us some idea of 
the conditions of rural life in the extreme south of 
Transcaucasia. We set out one morning in a 
carriage, a party of three—G. B., myself, and a 
young Armenian acting as interpreter. The day 
was very hot and very dusty as had been many 
days preceding it, and as were many others to follow. 
We had hardly quitted the town when a figure on 


wavanvg Ae awn 


THE MAY MASSACRES 285 


horseback emerged out of a cloud of dust behind us. 
He was a very tall, dark-bearded man, attired in a 
long black overcoat, a black alpaca tunic, black 
trousers, high boots, and a dilapidated straw hat, 
and was mounted on a sturdy little Tartar pony. He 
followed our carriage and exchanged greetings with 
our interpreter. He was, we learned, one of the 
celebrated Armenian Dyon-fidaz from Asia Minor, 
and the mere fact of his existence was illegal; having 
been informed that we were going to visit the burnt 
and plundered Armenian villages he had come to 
escort us as a voluntary guide and protector. His 
presence would ensure the confidence of the peasantry, 
for he was known throughout the country, while as 
for any possible attack on the part of the Tartars, 
two huge revolvers protruding from beneath his coat 
showed that he was well prepared for all eventualities. 

Anything more parched and desolate than the 
country round Nakhitchevan can hardly be imagined. 
The burnt yellow grass, the sandy soil, the bare 
rocks, and the suffocating dust, under the blazing 
autumn sun, compose a most depressing picture; yet 
not without beauty. The desolation is relieved at 
intervals by patches of cultivation. We came upon 
very few people along the road, now and then a small 
party of Armenians or Tartars with carts and horses, 
and occasionally some peasants working in the fields, 
these usually armed with rifles. Our first halting- 
place was Nazarabad, a poor little hamlet of mud huts 
with narrow tortuous streets. We looked into several 
houses which had been plundered of everything; the 
inhabitants all fled at the time of the outbreak, but 


236 ‘Ee AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


a fe ad now returned. The church, too, was 
dese ed and plundered, and presented a most 
forlo tppearance. 

Ni came Dijagry, a much bigger village, with 2 
mixed opulation of 3,000 or 4,000. Several of the 
houses are large and well built, but some of the best 


ones belong tenians had been burnt 
The Armenian been looted even down 
to the door nes, and nearly £50,000 
worth of stolen. A small detach- 
ment of : ered in the village, as 
further trouvie 5 The one fairly well-to- 
do Armenian thing left entertained us 
in his house wit. tality as he could afford ; 


he treated us with the greatest friendliness, refusing 
to accept the least payment. On our tour of inspection 
we were accompanied by half the population, all of 
them anxious to see the strangers and tell them their 
wrongs. It was here that the village s¢avosta, Abbas 
Zaloghi, led the plunderers and directed the massacre. 
He was eventually imprisoned. 

From Djagry we proceeded to cross a broad valley 
to a group of villages on the other side. The road 
was as usual a mere track; there was no bridge 
across the river, but we drove down into a bed of 
immense width, over an expanse of large pebbles, 
through several channels with fairly deep water, then 
up a very steep bank, in negotiating which we were 
nearly upset. It is extraordinary where a reckless 
Caucasian driver will take you, and how you do 
manage to get through safe and sound. Many large 
and important towns have no other means of com- 


THE MAY MASSACRES 287 


munication with the outside world than roads of this 
description ; in the rainy season they are impassable 
for weeks on end. On the other side the country is 
more fertile and green. There is a fairly wide area 
of cultivated fields and vineyards, watered by a 
number of irrigation channels. The harvest seemed 
everywhere excellent. But in the villages themselves 
we found the same traces of devastation and outrage. 
At Khal-khal every house had been pillaged, and at 
Alagéz-Mazra the same thing had happened. The 
church here had been completely gutted, the money- 
box broken open and its contents stolen. Ever since 
May, however, the villagers had been arming, and 
everywhere small bodies of village guards were being 
raised, strictly illegal and unauthorized of course, but 
constituting the only means of protection against 
possible raids. At one village the whole of the 
“guard "—about a dozen men armed with good rifles 
and bristling with cartridge-belts—turned out to do 
us honour. We passed them solemnly in review, and 
then photographed them. It was the first time in our 
lives that either of us had inspected a military force. 
“Once we have eight or ten Berdanki,” one of the 
men told us, “in the village, we are no longer afraid 
of the Tartars. Let them come and attack us now if 
they like ; we shall give them more than they expect.” 
They seemed to think that when a village has a few 
rifles the danger of attack is minimized, for the 
Tartars will only go where they are sure of finding 
unarmed men and plenty of plunder. The experience 
of the May and June disorders seems to bear out this 
contention. If only the Armenians were able to get 


arms there would be mo Sear of Gsmrbeoces 
sincerely bope ther they aap de sa One of 1 
priests told me chat undid recently be bed alw 
counselled bis fick agains: the ese of force, | 
advised them to remain peaceful “Bat mow, see 


thet the Government will sot or cammot protect 
my advice & Arm yourselves, and if ateac 
shoot withow oe” I wid his w Pr 
Napoleon pe here.” 

The! hich we stopped eae SE 
Mahmud, 1 holly Armenian It was 
attacked by ars, as its inhabitants w 
armed, and in ve villagers from many ot 
villages wl a plundered and burnt by 


Tartars, took refuge here. We were taken to see 
little church, all bright with ornaments and decorati 
“You see,” the priest said to us, “ what our churc 
are like when they have not been plundered ; all 
churches in the district were like this before 
Tartar robbers came last May.” The village sct 
was duly unlocked for my inspection, a poor li 
building, with a few benches, a portrait of the T 
and some pictures of objects for school use. 
villagers were most anxious to have a better sch 
and hoped now to get one. 

In every village I found the Armenian peasar 
as sympathetic and friendly as they could possibly 
They are not in the least like the traditional mor 
grubbing, money-lending Armenian of the tov 
who to the Western mind is so obnoxious. They 
simple, ignorant, and primitive no doubt, but kin: 
honest, and hard-working, and are endowed with th 


Reg Wok eons of 


CNN THL 2V suvEvE, caxovige 


THE MAY MASSACRES 289 


qualities which make nearly all rustic folk so agree- 
able. 

My tour in the Araxes valley called vividly to mind 
a similar journey through Macedonia and the Adria- 
nople vilayet during the autumn rising of 1903. In 
Russian Armenia we have the same general anarchy, 
the same brigandage, the same succession of murders 
of a more or less political and religious character as 
in Macedonia. There has been a persecution of the 
Armenians by the Russian Government similar to 
that of the Bulgarians and other Christians by 
Turkey, although a far less bloody one. Just as the 
Turkish Government encouraged and protected the 
bands of Albanian, Pomak, and Turkish bashi-buzuks, 
and permitted the depredations of the Mohammedan 
begs, so the Tartar brigands were allowed to work 
their sweet will on the Armenian peasants of Trans- 
caucasia. In Macedonia the Bulgarians, goaded to 
despair, formed themselves into revolutionary orga- 
nizations, and powerful committees arose which 
practised terrorism, collected and distributed arms, 
and did not hesitate to murder obnoxious people. 
In the Caucasus the Armenian committees fought 
against Russian officials and Tartar bandits in the 
same way. The tale of their murders is no doubt 
a long one, but not so long as that of the Tartars, and 
in any case can one blame them under the circum- 
stances? They are fighting an unequal fight with the 
only weapon left to them. In this case as in that of 
Macedonia, one need not be long in doubt as to 
where “the balance of criminality” lies. The revo- 
lutionary movement in Turkey led to a_ bloody 

19 


200 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


repression on the part of the Turkish Governm 
in the Caucasus the repression was carried out by 
Tartars with the tacit encouragement of the Ru: 
officials. The same incapacity to restore order 
really pacify the country, in spite of the presen 
huge armies. has been exhibited both by the Tu: 


and Russian ints, with the result that ¢ 
reigns in the is as in Macedonia and 
Minor. WV however, neglect the differe: 
The Chris : Caucasus are not precl 
from carrying « the same way as are theii 
religionists in I nor are the Russian law ci 
as farcical as of the Ottoman Empire, 


redress is sometim obtainable, brigands and | 
derers are sometimes punished. A Baku lawyet 
collected a vast mass of material concerning 
Nakhitchevan affair which he was going to sen 
the authorities at St. Petersburg, and the villages 
joined together to bring an action for damages ag 
the Governor of Erivan. But the same spirit ins 
both administrations. 

A prejudice common among Europeans concer 
the Christian races of the East is that the latte: 
all cowards ; the Turco-Greek war is pointed t 
conclusive evidence on this point, and the fact 
Mohammedans succeed in massacring Armenians 
Bulgarians is quoted to prove that the Christian 
incapable of defending themselves. Recent ev 
however, have shown that when supplied with . 
Christians are just as good fighters as Mos] 
In Macedonia 8,000 to 10,000 Bulgarians 
several Turkish army corps at bay for many mo: 


Gvaz, ARMENIAN CHURCH PLUNDERED AND DEsecRATED DY TARTARS. 


Photo by Grigoriantz, 


'o face poge 290, 


Sere ts 


THE MAY MASSACRES 291 


inflicting severe defeats on them; in the Caucasus the 
Armenians, once the first massacres made them realize 
the situation, have struck quite as doughty blows as 
they received, as many a Tartar has had good reason 
to remember; they have given examples of pluck 
such as the bravest fighting races might be proud of. 
A further parallel may be found in the resemblances 
between the Armenians and the Bulgarians. The 
latter, in spite of massacre and persecution and the 
indifference or unfriendliness of the Powers, are 
obviously destined to be the ruling race in the 
Balkans; in the same way the Armenians are the 
most capable race in the Caucasus, and in spite of 
Tartar outrages and the Armenophobia of the Musco- 
vite bureaucracy, they will unquestionably end by 
becoming the predominant element in the country. 


\PTER XV 


DROPOL AND ANI 


HE two thich form the subject of 
chapter a very antithesis of each ot 

Both are Ar horoughly Armenian; but 
one was built yeste _, and is an active centre of 


Armenian life of to-day, while the other is a desei 
ruin, a relic of Armenia's past, sanctified by 
traditions of the nation’s ancient history. 
Alexandropol has little to attract the stranger. 
district came into the possession of Russia toge! 
with the kingdom of Georgia, of which it formed ¢ 
early in the XIX. century; but there was onl 
wretched village called Giimri on the site of 
modern town. Being close to the frontier of Tur] 
it was converted by the Russians into a fortress 
renamed Alexandropol. Armenians from var. 
parts of the country came to settle there, an: 
prosperous town soon grew up. The population 1 
amounts to 32,000, nearly all of them Armenians, 
a considerable trade has been developed ; the railv 
which here forms a junction of the lines from Ti 
Kars, and Erivan, will no doubt increase its imp 
ance still further. The Alexandropol district is 
mm 


Viutace Guarp at Kwan-Kuau, 


Axt. Cave Dwettincs, (Page 909.) 


To face page 202. 


i 


ALEXANDROPOL AND ANI 293 


of the few in which the Armenians are overwhelmingly 
predominant, and the town is typically Armenian in 
character and appearance. It is built on two parallel 
ridges on the banks of the Arpa Chai in the midst of 
the bare Shirak plateau, at the foot of Alagéz. The 
houses are all of solid stone, dark grey or red in 
colour, severe, usually two stories high, disposed 
in a regular plan, the straight streets crossing each 
other at right angles. There are a few public build- 
ings of somewhat more imposing appearance—a town- 
hall, Government offices, schools, and several large 
churches, well built but uninteresting and plain. In 
the middle of the town is the inevitable bazar, less 
picturesque than those of Erivan or Tiflis, and near 
the post-office the no less inevitable town garden. 
An atmosphere of solid unromantic prosperity per- 
vades Alexandropol, thoroughly in keeping with the 
Armenian character, and there is a feeling of peace 
and quiet in striking contrast with the chaotic turmoil 
of other parts of the Caucasus. The only note of 
colour is provided by the costumes of some of the 
peasantry, which are Oriental and brilliant. M. Ter- 
Petrosiantz, the Armenian Mayor, was the only 
person on whom I called ; he merely confirmed what 
I already knew, that this district has remained quiet 
throughout the Tartar-Armenian troubles, and that 
the Armenians, although in a strong majority, have 
never attempted to retaliate on the local Tartars to 
avenge the murder of their brethren in other places. * 
Alexandropol is the starting-point for Ani, the 


* Somewhat later a few isolated murders have been committed, 
but there has been no outbreak. 


tE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


Ar in Pompeii, which may be reached either by 
car or by rail to the station of Ani and thence 
* acre country. I chose the latter route, as I 
error sly believed it to be shorter, and hoped to 
see the ruins and return in time to catch the train 
back to Alexandropol the same evening. The 


distance by rau tion is about 20 versts 
as the crow : Russian trains, like the 
curate in the crows and cannot fly, so 
that it takes n ur. I arrived at about 
2 p.m., and on the station gendarme, I 
found an Armen who was prepared to hire 
out his pony, ar ith me himself as a guide. 
An Armenian me Turkish mullah, and a 


couple of other peasants were going in the same 
direction too, so we made up a party. We set out 
across some very stony fields of stubble, and it did not 
take me long to realize that to return to Alexandropol 
that night was impossible. The country is a rolling 
upland, parched and brown, almost deserted. The 
heat was still very great, although we were well on 
in October. It took us over an hour to reach the 
village of Kargo, where our horses were to be left. 
It is an insignificant little hamlet, of rough stone-built 
houses, with one shop and a pleasant Armenian 
population. We proceeded thence on foot, and soon 
came to the edge of a cliff. A steep path leads far 
down into a gloomy, tortuous gorge, where the Arpa 
Chai has cut a passage for itself. The river is neither 
deep nor swift; its waters are of a bright green 
colour, touched with foam in places as they break 
over the rocks. The appearance of this mysterious 


ALEXANDROPOL AND ANI 205 


stream in its deep cajion-like gully is most impressive 
and weird. The banks are flat and grassy, but 
narrow, and are bounded by precipitous walls of black 
rock and yellow clay. A square punt was moored 
up to the bank to serve as a ferry-boat, in which we 
crossed the river. A zigzag path led up from the 
opposite side to the top of the cliff, where the rolling 
plain began once more. We walked over one or two 
brown ridges, and suddenly the walls of Ani came in 
sight. There they stood, massive piles of masonry 
extending for nearly a mile, with huge round towers 
at short intervals, mute testimony to the deeds of the 
Armenians in the brave days of old. 

To see Ani properly you must spend at least one 
night there, but I cannot describe that experience as 
exactly blissful. I advise other travellers to bring 
their own provisions. The aged monk, who with a 
couple of peasants form the whole population of the 
old Armenian capital, is friendly and hospitable, and 
places all he has at the disposal of the visitor, but it 
is very little. He lives in a one-storied stone house 
near the cathedral, where a large but very dirty 
room, with four beds in it, serves as bedroom and 
dining-room for guests. A visitors’ book is kept, 
going back a good many years. Most of the 
entries are in Armenian, and therefore to me unde- 
cipherable. A good number are in Russian, and a 
few in English, French, German, Italian, &c. I need 
hardly say that I found the record of the visit of the 
two English spinsters touring through the land of 
Ararat. Where does one not come on the traces of 
that most enterprising species of the human race, the 


{2 AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


B spinster? Surely their tracks mark oot the 
path Enmpire, for they, like the men im Kipine’s 
poe elong to 

“The legion that never was sted, 

That cames no colours nor ces” 
Some of the 1 ten inspired by the ruins 
to lapse into usual variety common to 
visitors’ be over. But I could not 
help being stru Il number of people who 
visit this v ‘or whole months some- 
times only two hes are recorded. 

Before desc ts themselves I must say 


a few words on tc sudauon and history of Ani 
The Arpa Chai has cut its way by a deep, sinuous 
cafion across the plain at this point, and is joined by 
a small stream, also in a deep ravine, called the 
Aladja Chai. On the promontory formed by the 
meeting of the two rivers Ani has been built. The 
third side is indicated by a slight depression of the 
svil across which a fosse was excavated, and two 
ravines with a tiny torrent in each join the rivers. A 
platform is thus formed which offered excellent oppor- 
tunities for defence in days when there was no 
artillery to dominate it from the neighbouring heights. 
In fact, Ani was originally a fortress, before it became 
the capital of a kingdom. The enclosure is not flat, 
but like the rest of the plain, rolling and irregular, 
with several sharp eminences and depressions. The 
soil is of a rich brown colour, very stony in parts, and 
covered with a pale yellow grass, which serves to 


At. Watts Viawep rrom Winns, 


Ast. The Watts Viewep reo Ovrsipe. 


Te face paye 


ALEXANDROPOL AND ANI 297 


intensify the appearance of dry barrenness. In the 
middle of this desolate space stand the ruins of 
churches and palaces without number, some mere 
vestiges of broken masonry and formless heaps of 
stones, others in their general features almost intact. 
All around, as far as the eye can reach, the plateau 
extends in vast folds and waves like the ground- 
swell of a sea. Due east rises the mass of Alagéz, 
on which a few small snow-fields gleam brightly. To 
the south-east is Ararat, but it is hidden from us by a 
number of minor eminences. 

The history of Ani* is closely bound up with that 
of the Armenian kingdom in its later phase. In the 
early days of the Arsakid dynasty we have no record 
of Ani. After the collapse of that house the country 
was conquered by the Persians and formed part of 
their Empire, while the western provinces were 
annexed to the dominions of the East Roman Cesars. 
In the VII. century it was overrun by the Arab 
invaders and eventually annexed to the Baghdad 
Khalifate. The conquerors persecuted Christianity 
and attempted, though without success, to exterminate 
it—the Persians in the interests of the religion of the 
Magi, the Arabs in those of Islam. Under the Khalifs 
the country was ruled by Mohammedan governors, 
who in later times permitted the inhabitants a certain 
amount of autonomy. The Armenian people were 
under a feudal ~égzme at the head of which we find 
certain great families; the most important of these 
are the Bagratids, who were of Jewish origin, and the 


* I am largely indebted to Mr. Lynch’s Armenia for this sketch 
of Armenian history and for some of the architectural details of Ani. 


‘E AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


. The former gradually succeeded in domi- 
la the eastern half of Armenia, first as mere 
representatives of the Khalifs and the latter as more 
or less idependent kings, while the latter ruled in the 
west. 


For a short period 1 the Bagratid kings succeeded in 


bringing the * * ‘a under their sway ; but 
from the Vis, ward the history of the 
country is as nd revolutions, in which 
domination nand fought for by the 
Arabs, the the Seljuk Turks, and 
various native first Bagratid king was 
Ashot I. (856 whom the kingdom of 
Armenia exter um in the west and to 


Caucasus and the Caspian in the east. With the 
advent of his successor Sembat I. (890-914) begins 
the series of invasions by the Arab governors of 
the province of Azerbajan, which were to play such 
a part in the subsequent history of the country. The 
war waged by the men of Azerbajan, Persians, Arabs, 
Kurds, and Tartars, against the Armenians may 
indeed be said to have continued with few inter- 
ruptions for sixteen hundred years. Its latest phase 
is the present struggle in the Eastern Caucasus, for 
most of the Tartars there are of the Azerbajan stock. 
Under Sembat I. Ani, then only a fortress, was given 
over to the Georgians. It was subsequently regained 
by the Armenian kings, and already began to acquire 
importance on account of its churches and monas- 
teries. Ashot III. was anointed king of Armenia 
at Ani in 961. He it was who converted it 
into a splendid city and made it the capital of 


"905 ebod vonf of, 


sivaaaHivg aNy TINY, 


ALEXANDROPOL AND ANI 299 


his kingdom. His son and successor, Sembat II. 
(977-989), enlarged and beautified it. Gaghik I. 
(989-1019) completed the fine cathedral, built the 
church of St. Gregory the Illuminator, and trans- 
ferred the Patriarchate to Ani. During the reign of 
Ashot IV., in 1022, Ani was captured and pillaged by 
the King of Georgia, the first of its many conquerors. 
But it soon fell again into the hands of the Armenians. 
This part of Armenia came to be designated the 
kingdom of Ani or Shirak, to distinguish it from 
the Armenian kingdom of Van or Vagarsapan. 
Ashot gave it over by his will to the Greek 
Emperors; the Greeks afterwards claimed the 
heritage, and in 1041 attempted to seize Ani, but 
were defeated. Here we see one of the earliest 
manifestations of the hatred of Armenians and Greeks, 
which, like that of Greeks and Slavs in the Balkans, 
contributed in no small degree to the conquest of all 
these lands by the Ottoman Turks. Now begins the 
most woful period of Armenian history. 

In the west the Ottoman Turks make their 
appearance and begin their ravages, while in the 
east Toghrul Bey conducts his hordes of Turkomans 
from Azerbajan to Nakhitchevan and the Araxes 
valley. Gaghik II. (1042-1045) defeated the 
Turkomans near Erivan, but failed to stop their 
advance. In 1045 the Greeks succeeded in seizing 
Ani by treachery, which for some time was to be 
ruled by Greek Governors. Ten years later a host 
of Seljuk Turks massacred a number of Armenians 
outside the walls of Ani, and in 1064 Alp Arslan, the 
Seljuk Sultan, made a formidable attack on the city. 


the Kurdish family of Beni-Cheddad, 
who formed a si tate, and dragged on an 
eventful and sto. © until nearly the end of 
the XII 1124, David, King of 
Georgia, took o and held it for a short 
period; his suc age IIL, captured it in 
1161, restored it rds four years later, and 
seized it again in n the reign of the cele- 


brated Georgian Queen Thamara (or Thamar), the 
people of Ani were massacred by the Emir of Ardabil 
in Azerbajan. In spite of these repeated sacks the 
city seems to have been still rich and populous ; but 
in 1239 it was captured and plundered once again by 
the destroying Asiatic hordes of Genghis Khan. 
In 1319 the final catastrophe came in the form of an 
earthquake, which wrought terrible havoc. Although 
the city seems to have been partly inhabited for a few 
years more,* it never recovered, and was eventually 
abandoned. So it has remained for close on six 
centuries, deserted, solitary, and silent, a monument 
to the past greatness and magnificence of a people. 

Ani must have been a splendid city indeed in its 
halcyon days. Mass was celebrated, says Matthew 
of Edessa, in a thousand and one churches, many of 
them of great wealth and magnificence, as the ruins 

* Armenia, by H. B. F. Lynch, vol. i. p. 336. 


ALEXANDROPOL AND ANI 301 


attest to this day. Merchants from all parts of the 
Middle East flocked to its markets, and a teeming 
busy population, said to have numbered 100,000 souls 
in the XI. century, filled its streets. The whole 
enclosure of the ruins is not very large—about three 
and a half miles in circumference. Mr. Lynch * sug- 
gests that a great part of the inhabitants must have 
dwelt outside the walls. The existence of large 
numbers of cave dwellings in the ravine of the Aladja 
Chai, many of them inhabited to this day, bears out 
this view. 

The character of the architecture is very striking, 
especially to those unfamiliar with the Armenian- 
Georgian style. Its direct descent from that of 
Byzantium and its resemblance to Norman, to which 
I have alluded in a previous chapter, are particularly 
remarkable, although there are many individually 
Armenian characteristics. The masonry is, as usual, 
extremely solid and of excellent quality. The walls 
are composed “of an inner core of conglomerate, faced 
on either side with rectangular blocks of hewn stone,” 
alternately red and dark grey in some _ buildings, 
wholly grey, red, or of a brownish yellow in others. 
The adornments are severe and simple, but beautifully 
moulded and always in exquisite taste. Besides the 
buildings which are still standing excavations are con- 
stantly bringing to light the foundations of further 
edifices. The greater part are churches and monas- 
teries, although the city walls and the castle are 
among the most conspicuous. Of private dwellings 
there are very few traces, whence Mr. Lynch argues 
that they were probably built of inferior material. 

* Ibid. p. 370. 


302. FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


The first building which one sees on reaching Ani 
is the outer wall. Nowhere, except at Constantinople, 
have I seen more splendid defences of a medizval 
city. For about two-thirds of a mile they are still 
standing, and broken fragments of them extend along 
the whole length of the circumference of the city and 
descend into the ravine of the Arpa Chai. The part 
which is still more or less intact is that defending the 
almost level space between the two rivers, where the 
strategic position was naturally weakest. We havea 
long stretch of double walls and forty huge round 
towers at short intervals. The chief entrance is by 
a small gateway in the outer wall leading into the 
enclosure ; we then turn to the left for a short dis- 
tance until we come to a second larger gate in the 
inner wall flanked by two massive towers. There isa 
bas-relief of a lion and several inscriptions in various 
characters on this part of the fortifications. The walls 
were first built by Sembat II. late in the X. century, 
but his successors altered and strengthened them at 
various epochs during the XI., XII., and XIII. 
centuries. From beyond the gate we see the per- 
spective of the inner wall which has several square 
towers ; it is in much less good repair than the outer 
facing. It is a most lonely, solemn scene, this wide 
expanse of brown earth and yellow grass with the 
towers and churches standing out like isolated sentries. 
On entering the enclosure one first turns one’s steps 
in the direction of the cathedral. From a distance it 
seems to be merely a plain rectangular structure with 
no architectural pretensions. But on closer inspection 
it proves to be a building of really great beauty and 


To face page 3, 


\ 


ALEXANDROPOL AND ANI 303 


of the most perfect proportions. The material used 
is stone of a rich rose-red, which glows in the bright 
sunlight, producing a most wonderful effect. It stands 
quite alone, for only the merest vestiges of the neigh- 
bouring edifices remain. The outer walls are very 
simple but perfect in their simplicity ; they form an 
oblong, unbroken by apse, buttress, porch, or other 
projection. The only adornments are the two large 
niches at the east end, smaller ones on the other 
sides, a false arcade of round arches lightly indicated 
covering all four walls, and a number of high, narrow, 
round-arched windows. The columns of the false 
arcade are slender and graceful, their capitals and 
the mouldings round the niches and windows are 
of delicate and tasteful workmanship. The general 
scheme of decoration is Byzantine, but it is much 
simpler than that of the famous temples of Constanti- _ 
nople or Ravenna. There are no human and very 
few animal figures to be seen, except some birds 
of a kind closely resembling those of Byzantine art. 
The commonest form of ornament is the interlacing 
pattern which by a skilful arrangement of deep 
shadows forms a most valuable decorative feature. 
The roof is all of stone, and indicates the cruciform 
plan, showing the nave and the transept with the base 
of a drum, also adorned with a false arcade, which 
formerly supported a dome, now fallen in. The 
interior is of extreme grandeur and stateliness. The 
simplicity both of plan and of decoration, the beautiful 
proportions, and the perfection of the lines are most 
striking. Although not a large building—according 
to Mr. Lynch the interior measures 105 feet 6 inches 


24 tE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 
in ke b by 65 feet 6 inches in breadth—it is very 


is contained in cated by the two outside 
niches atthe e | wo small apses to the 
north and the interior. There are 
faint traces some of the walls, too 
faded and a icate the subjects. The 
lighting woula be but for the hole in the 
roof produced ollapse of the dome. 


The floor is coverea wun sarge stone flags. Many 
fragments of sculptured stone are scattered about, but 
most of the best specimens have been transferred to 
the museum. A poor little altar has been erected in 
one of the apses, where the old priest occasionally 
says mass; patriotic Armenians are wont to make 
pilgrimages here from time to time to listen to Divine 
service amidst the “bare ruined choirs where late 
the sweet birds sang.” 

The inscriptions, which are mostly in Armenian, 
indicate Sembat II. (977-989) as the founder of the 
cathedral, which was completed by Gaghik I. (989- 
1019). Some of the legends allude to public acts of 
the kings or governors of Ani, and others to pious 
donations to the Church. 

The next most important church is that of St. 
Gregory the Illuminator, situated on the ridge to the 
east of and below the cathedral overlooking the dark 


ALEXANDROPOL AND ANI 305 


gorge of the Arpa Chai. In general form it closely 
resembles the cathedral, but the conical dome sup- 
ported on a polygonal drum and the elaborate porch 
have survived, although in a ruinous condition. The 
false arcade rests on slender double columns, and its 
mouldings and tracery are extremely rich and finely 
chiselled. The eagle pursuing a hare and other bird 
motifs are prominent. There are niches similar to 
those of the cathedral, but less pronounced, and the 
same arrangement of the roof indicating nave and 
transept. The porch is of much more solid and heavy 
construction and of a later date ; it is formed by round, 
stilted arches supported on short, squat columns with 
beautifully carved capitals of a Byzantine type. The 
arches themselves have the Norman zigzag moulding, 
surmounted by tracery. Both within the porch and 
within the body of the church the frescoes, represent- 
ing figures of Christ, the Virgin and Saints, are fairly 
well preserved, and although of small artistic value 
enhance the general decorative effect. 

The church was built together with a monastery, 
according to an Armenian inscription, by one 
Tigran, of the family of Honentz, in 1215, while 
Zakarea was Governor (in the Georgian period). As 
several of the inscriptions are in Georgian or in 
Greek characters the opinion has been expressed 
that it was a Greek church ; but, as Mr. Lynch points 
out, it was built by an Armenian and dedicated to 
an Armenian saint. 

The beautiful little chapel of St. Gregory belongs 
to a different type, also common in Armenian archi- 
tecture It is a polygonal building (twelve sides) 

20 


wu RE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 

sut ing a round drum with a conical roof. On 
each de there is a window or a niche, narrow and 
rou sched, with a string-course going all round 
the —Iding and blending with the false arch above 
the: es. Internally, we have the usual combination 
of sim licity with exquisite proportions producing an 


impression ~ dignity. It was a sort of 
mortuary c! vid family, some of whose 
members ¥ there is an inscription by 
one Vahra Armenian patriotism and 
opposed \d died in battle against 
the Kurds ( fe traces of many tombs. 
A very sin : chapel of the Redeemer, 
dating from the situated at some distance 


beyond the east end of the cathedral. There are 
several chapels of the same order at Ani, some still 
standing, others only indicated by the foundations. 
Nor can the church of the Apostles be overlooked, 
which although in ruins shows signs of having been 
a fine building. The east front is decorated with 
elaborate honeycomb vaultings, false niches, and other 
Saracen adornments. The earliest inscriptions bear 
the date 1031 and the name of Apughamer, son of 
Vahram, while the latest is a public proclamation of 
the year 1348, which shows that even twenty-nine 
years after the great earthquake the city was still 
inhabited. 

A very important and beautiful building is the 
monastery of Khosha Vank, on the opposite bank of 
the Arpa Chai, mentioned in the chronicles as the 
place where the Armenian kings often repaired to 
deliberate on affairs of state. But unfortunately | 


ALEXANDROPOL AND ANI 307 


did not have time to visit it, as it is some distance 
from Ani. | 

Of the secular buildings the most remarkable is the 
castle, a huge structure at the edge of the cliff, over- 
looking the Aladja Chai ravine at the extreme north- 
western end of the town. On the inner side we see 
two storeys, the lower formed of three rounded barrel- 
shaped vaults, the upper divided into three corre- 
sponding apartments. The outer wall facing the town 
has collapsed and the roof has fallen in. On the other 
side, overlooking the valley the masonry descends fur- 
ther down, thus forming a higher building, and there 
are a number of other chambers and passages. The 
only piece of decoration is the doorway facing the 
town, adorned with beautiful carving and inlay, sur- 
mounted by a pointed arched window. I was told by 
the old priest that this was the palace of the Pahlavid 
kings, but Mr. Lynch describes this designation as 
‘purely imaginary.” It was probably part of the 
defences of Ant, and its outer wall is indeed a con- 
tinuation of the great double wall already described. 

At the southern end of the town ona high mound 
we have the remains of the citadel—the citadel which 
was probably the fortress of Ani before the city was 
built. All that remains of it are some fragments of 
walls and two small chapels, one of which contains 
a few beautiful fragments of carving. The palace of 
the kings was apparently situated here. 

Another large edifice is the mosque with the 
polygonal minaret, built by Manuchar, of the 
Kurdish family of Beni-Cheddad, Prince of Ani 
(1072), and is no doubt the earliest Moslem temple. 


3E AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 
1: we several Persian, Arabic, and Cufic inscrip- 
tions various dates. The exterior consists of plain, 
unad ed walls of black and red stones, but the 
inte is a curious chamber with round vaultings, 
supported by short, thick, round columns. There isa 
lower chamber with windows overlooking the ravine, 


but below the Ie i plateau. It is now used 
as a storehouse 's, and contains a number 
of fragm 5 ng, capitals, inscriptions, 
pottery, 0 1s, besides a few archzo- 
logical bor wings relating to Ani. 
Wanderin rted city one comes every 
moment upon $ icovery, some fresh frag- 
ment of architec! te sides of the cliffs there 


are many remains of fortifications, massive towers, 
bastions, and parapets, and here and there a small 
chapel. Right down in the gorge, not far from the 
ferry, are the broken piers of a stone bridge across the 
Arpa Chai, whence a road led up to the city ; some- 
what lower down are the remains of a second. There 
are numerous subterranean chambers, probably store- 
rooms for grain and reservoirs. A great deal remains 
yet to be excavated at Ani, for hitherto the Russian 
Government, in its absurd fear of arousing Armenian 
nationalism, has opposed any systematic exploration. 
Professor Marr, of St. Petersburg, is now working at 
the ruins, and has made many valuable discoveries, 
but even he is hampered by want of funds, and in the 
present state of things the Government is not in a 
position to provide much money. 

Very curious and interesting are the cave dwellings, 
of which there is a large number. The most important 


ALEXANDROPOL AND ANI 300 


group are those in the Aladja Chai ravine and in the 
little valley running up towards the depression sepa- 
rating the Aladja from the Arpa Chai. The Aladja 
ravine is much broader and less forbidding than that of 
the Arpa Chai, and the banks are grassy and in places 
cultivated, so that it would naturally be preferred as a 
place of residence. A whole row of caves has been 
dug out of the soft tufo on what I may call the Ani 
block, just below the castle, another on the opposite 
side of the little valley, and several rows beyond the 
Aladja Chai. A large part of the ancient population 
of Ani probably dwelt in them, and many are still 
inhabited to this day. I entered two or three, and 
certainly I have never seen more primitive dwelling- 
places anywhere. There was no overcrowding, as 
each family had two or three “ rooms ” at its disposal ; 
but there was no furniture save couches made by 
cutting into the tufo, a few rags, and some cooking 
utensils. The dirt, the poverty, and barbarism were 
incredible. These Troglodytes were both Armenians 
and Tartars; I have seldom met with more wretched 
specimens of either race. On the plain beyond the 
double wall, at some distance from the deserted city, 
is a small village, also called Ani, inhabited by Tartars, 
but of a superior type. They were very friendly and 
courteous, and I was taken into a dark, cellar-like 
room with no furniture, save a broad earthen divan 
round three sides of the apartment and covered with 
dirty cushions and rugs. Here a number of villagers 
and a few strangers, including the Armenian merchant 
with whom I had travelled the day before, were 
gathered together to chat and eat grapes. Tartars 


RE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 
and = menians in this part of the country seem to live 
oa vi ‘good terms, and although separated by religion 
and toms, are not at all anxious to cut each other's 
throat | 
From the Tartar village I returned to the ruins, 
and after a meal in the hostelry I took leave of this 


marvellous city. evidence of a building 
power and archi GI on the part of the 
ancient Arme ighest order, and enables 
us to re e, in spite of the lament- 
able history ‘enturies, is a nation with 
a noble past: spot, where proud kings 
once dwelt in ¢ ts and held sway over 
prosperous lands ed subjects, where public 


life was active and vigorous, is a crying wilderness. 
None but the old priest and the peasant family dwell 
within the enclosure, and even the neighbouring 
country, formerly so fertile and well-peopled, is now 
almost uninhabited, and has become to a great extent 
barren desert. Is the state of Ani symbolical of that 
of the Armenian nation, and are they destined at last 
to disappear or be absorbed into other races, other 
religions? I do not think so, for with all the suffer- 
ings and persecution they have undergone they still 
preserve a vigorous national life. Many of them have 
been massacred, but the survivors are not absorbed. 
Their. industry is more active than ever, and educa- 
tion is making great progress. They have built up 
the oil trade of Baku, they monopolize the commerce 
of Tiflis, and at Rostoff-on-the-Don, Baku, Odessa, 
Moscow, Kishinieff, Constantinople, Bombay, Cal- 
cutta, and many another city far removed from their 


“org ated a90f 01 


NAUGUND AVIAV], 40 dNOUD “INY 40 AOVTTIA, 


ALEXANDROPOL AND ANI 311 


ancestral homes, they form industrious, intelligent, 
and prosperous commercial communities. A people 


with such a past and such a present need surely not 
despair of its future. 


CHAPTER XVI 
OVER THE FROSTY CAUCASUS 


HEN I left Tiflis on my way back to Europe, 
after a prolonged stay in Caucasia, I had 
hardly seen the Caucasus itself at all. I had had 
a glimpse of great peaks from the deck of the steamer 
coming from Odessa; the beautiful Tetnould had 
appeared to me one day while I was at Kutais ; and 
once or twice I had visions of the Kazbek from Tiflis. 
But of the real Alpine scenery I had as yet seen 
hardly anything, for my interest lay all with the political 
problems among the people of the Transcaucasian 
plains and valleys. So I seized the opportunity to 
travel home by the famous Voyenno-Gruzinskaya 
Doroga (the Georgian military road) rather than by 
the more convenient railway route v@ Baladjary. 
Rumours of a railway strike in European Russia 
had already reached Tiflis, but I hoped to cross the 
mountains in time to catch the train to Rostoff-on-the- 
Don, where I had some friends, before the movement 
got so far south. 
The Darial Pass, or Pass of the Cross, as the 
Russians call it, has had an eventful history and 


played an important part in Caucasian affairs from 
ua 


Tue Groxetax Roan, View oF Desner. 


Vinw or Mavens 


To face paye 313. 


OVER THE FROSTY CAUCASUS 313 


time immemorial. The great range which divides 
Europe from Asia appears to be an impassable barrier 
of ice and snow and rock, but in reality it has often 
been crossed by invading armies, while the warlike, 
savage peoples inhabiting the fastnesses of the moun- 
tains were always a terror to the peoples of the plains 
both north and south. Where the central passes 
proved too difficult of access, the invaders crossed 
by the lower hills to the east or crept round along 
the Caspian coast. Until the XVIII. century the 
invasions were mostly from south to north, but with 
the accession of Peter the Great to the Russian 
throne a contrary movement began, and Russia sent 
expedition after expedition to the promised land of 
Transcaucasia, now to attack an enemy, now to 
“protect” a friend, but always with the same ulti- 
mate result—that of extending and consolidating her 
domination. Many of these expeditions crossed by 
the Darial Pass, and more than once were large 
bodies of troops defeated and annihilated by the 
fierce mountaineers. 

Merchants and travellers used this route too, but it 
was always a dangerous one. There were no roads, 
and the fierce torrents frequently inundated the 
narrow valleys and made them impassable; while 
avalanches and landslides swallowed up whole cara- 
vans of men and animals. At one point the mer- 
chandize had to be carried on men’s backs for a 
considerable distance. The bands of brigands were 
even more dangerous, and no one ventured to under- 
take the journey without a strong armed escort. 
Then there were tolls to pay to the mountain chiefs, 


314 [RE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


and 1e natives who helped travellers across the 
bridy less Terek demanded extortionate prices. The 
track was strewn with skeletons of men and 
horses. 

When Russia came to acquire first a protectorate, 
and later absolute dominion over Transcaucasia, one 


of her first obje ‘0 ensure the security of 
this passage which’ e best means of commu- 
nication cquired territories. First 
two b ‘en blockhouses and Cos- 
sack posts protect travellers against 
mauraders ; at road was commenced, 
and built under of Prince Vorontzoff and 
Prince Baryatins! lifficulties were enormous, 


and taxed Russian engineering skill to the utmost ; 
it was not until 1861 that it was opened to the public, 
and is one of the most magnificent pieces of road- 
building in the world. Until a few years ago the 
Georgian road remained the chief connecting link 
between European Russia and Tiflis. There was 
a constant passage to and fro of soldiers, officials, 
caravans of merchants, travellers of all sorts. The 
Russian railway system ended at Vladikavkaz, the 
northern terminus of the road, and the Transcaucasian 
railway had no connection with it. There was talk 
of tunnelling through the central Caucasus so as to 
unite Tiflis with Vladikavkaz by rail, and also of a 
Black Sea coast-line from Novorossiisk to Poti; but 
both projects were dropped on account of the im- 
mense natural difficulties. Then the Batum-Tifls 
line was prolonged to Baku for the convenience of 
the oil industry; in the ‘nineties the Vladikavkaz 


OVER THE FROSTY CAUCASUS 315 


railway was extended to Petrovsk, 353 versts from 
Baku, and finally, in the first years of the XX. cen- 
tury, Petrovsk was linked with Baku, thus com- 
pleting the line from Moscow to Tiflis and Batum, 
vié Rostoff and Baladjary. The opening of the rail- 
way connection has diminished the traffic along the 
Georgian road considerably ; travellers in winter, and 
many even in summer, prefer the Baladjary route, 
which is more comfortable and does not necessitate 
change. But the scenery is far finer on the carriage 
road. 

The administration of the Georgian road is very 
good ; it is, in fact, the best institution in the Cau- 
casus. The whole route is divided into twelve sec- 
tions, of about 16 versts each. There is a postal 
station at the end of every section, where horses 
are changed and food and lodging may be obtained 
at fixed rates. There are two mail-coach services 
every day in each direction (three in summer), or one 
may hire a separate postal carriage. Being alone at 
that time I travelled by the mail-coach, which I found 
quite comfortable; it is a lumbering, old-fashioned 
vehicle with six places—two first-class inside, three 
seconds in the open coupé behind the driver, which are 
by far the best, and one third-class perch at the back. 
It is harnessed to two horses for the flat or downhill 
stretches, but two or three more are added, one of 
them ridden by a small boy as postilion, for the 
ascents. Besides the driver, there is the ‘ conduc- 
tor,” an imposing person in a brown ¢ikerkesska and 
a variety of picturesque adornments, including the 
inevitable £:x7a/ and revolver; he blows a trumpet 


316 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


as a warning to other vehicles to make room for His 
Majesty's mails, or on entering a village. 

For some hours the road follows the Batum railway 
as far as Mtzkhet. This unpronounceable place, now 
a village, was formerly the capital of Georgia, and 
still contains several churches and monasteries and 
walls of great antiquity; it is situated on a grassy 
ridge overlooking the Kura. I was unable to see 
anything of it, for the road does not pass through it. 
Hour after hour we toiled slowly up gentle slopes 
amidst cornfields, meadows, and woods, with mountains 
on all sides, neither very high nor very imposing. In 
fact, during the whole of the first day the scenery, 
though pleasant and bright, is somewhat tame. At 
Dushet, half an hour's rest for lunch; it is a pretty 
little town, well situated in the Aragva valley. A 
large detachment of troops is stationed here now, for 
it is the centre of the communistic agitation, and the 
peasants have been seizing the lands of the State and 
of the nobles. Again we toil up hill and down dale, 
through a narrow gorge, and out into a broad space 
beyond where two valleys meet; there on a rocky 
eminence commanding the passage rises the 
picturesque stronghold of Annanur, “/e seul sourire 
du Caucase,” asa French writer called it. It was an 
important point of vantage in the Middle Ages, and 
was fortified by the Georgian kings. Many times it 
was attacked and sometimes taken; it saw the Arab 
invaders and witnessed the passage of Timur the 
Tartar. The modern village is very small, and I saw 
very few inhabitants save a couple of Georgian 
peasants on horseback and some wandering Ossets. 


Tue Geoxctax Roan, Puntic Diicesce ox THE Pass oF THE Cross. 


Tue Grorcian Roap. Native Carts at tHe Kazpex Post STATION. 
To face paye 317. 


OVER THE FROSTY CAUCASUS 317 


Beyond Annanur the valley becomes rapidly narrower ; 
the daylight is going, and by the time we reach 
Passanaur it is quite dark. We are now 3,400 feet 
above the sea, and it is getting cold. Of the scenery 
we see nothing save the forms of steep mountains 
looming above us and the foaming Aragva below. 
Another stretch of dark road, the great mountains 
seeming to hold us ever more firmly within their iron 
grip. Then Mlety (5,000 feet), supper, and bed. 
This station is the largest on the whole route, and 
boasts of a gaudy and not overclean dining-room 
adorned with ugly brass candlesticks and vases full of 
paper flowers. 

The next morning we rise before dawn and are off 
by six. Now begins the steepest ascent of all; we 
are climbing up an almost perpendicular mountain- 
side by a wonderful zigzag road. Here and there 
a Georgian or Osset village clings desperately to the 
cliff ; these hamlets look like something between bee- 
hives and heaps of stones. A few prehistoric carts 
and half a dozen peasants in sheepskins and rags are 
the only people we meet. But even the Caucasus 
is not free from the name-scribbling wretch, and the 
rocks are scrawled all over with patronymics and 
dates. The mountains are becoming ever grander, 
the vegetation more sparse, and the snow-peaks at 
last begin to appear. The first we sight is the 
Seven Brothers. At Gudaur, the highest station of 
all (7,200 feet), there is an observatory. Another 
hour of steep uplands and bare plateaux, and we are 
at the famous pass of the Krestovaya Gora (Mount of 
the Cross, 8,720 feet high). We are now on the 


318 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


threshold of Europe and Asia. An immense yawning 
chasm opens out before us, and great white peaks rise 
up on every side. We begin to descend down appal- 
ling zigzags, sometimes through tunnels built to pro- 
tect the road against avalanches, but in spite of these 
precautions the passage is still dangerous in spring- 
time. The landscape is one of almost terrible wildness 
and desolation. On the south side the approach to 
the Caucasus is gentle and verdant, but on the saat 
it is forbidding and hostile. 

The first station on the descent is Kobi, i in.an open 
space where four glacier-fed torrents meet and form 
the Terek. A wretched village, a few poo 
of corn, some tiny trees—that is all. Ni I 
appears in all its grandeur, a splendid ; 
dazzling whiteness, 16,500 feet high. Lil 
it is a mountain of legends, and is venera' 
natives more than any other peak in the C 
Vast glaciers creep far down into the and 
Kazbek itself rises up from a chaos of rocks. The 
village at its feet is also called Kazbek, and so are 
half the inhabitants. One of them, Alexander Kazbek, 
was a distinguished man in his way, and his memory 
is still remembered and loved by the mountaineers. 
He was devoted to the Osset people who dwell in this 
district, and being a rich man, he gave all his life and 
his income to ameliorate their wretched conditions, 
ever pleading their cause to the Russian Government. 
He led the simple life of a shepherd on the moun- 
tains. He loved his Kazbek as though it were a 
human being, and he wrote many poems about it 
which are greatly appreciated wherever the Georgian 


Tue Grorctan Roav. Kout, 


Jace page 318. 


OVER THE FROSTY CAUCASUS 319 


tongue is spoken. A few years ago he died at Tiflis 
at the age of sixty, and his last wish was to be buried 
in the village churchyard facing his adored mountain. 

After Kazbek the road enters the Darial gorge, the 
Portz Caspiz of the ancients. This is the gloomiest 
and most savage part of the whole route; immense 
walls of iron-grey naked rock rise up on either side 
of the roaring Terek, nearly 6,000 feet high. The 
passage is so narrow that there is only room for the 
river; the road had to be cut out of the rock. Solitude 
adds to the terror of the scene, and one encounters 
hardly a living being. For eight miles we are en. 
gulfed in this dark sepulchre. On emerging from 
the narrowest part we pass the ruins of a castle 
attributed like so many others to Queen Thamara, 
and a Cossack blockhouse. Balta is the last station, 
after quitting which we shake ourselves free of the 
mountains and cross a stretch of level country. About 
sunset we reach Vladikavkaz. 

Being anxious to get to Rostoff as soon as possible, 
I drove to the station and interviewed the station- 
master on the subject of strikes; he assured me that 
the line was still open and that tickets were being 
issued as far as Rostoff. While waiting for my train I 
perused the local paper—no Petersburg or Moscow 
sheets had arrived for days. I then read how that 
extraordinary strike was spreading with lightning 
rapidity from one end of the vast Empire to the other, 
One came on such items as these: “St. Peters- 
burg. The trains on the Baltic railway have ceased 
running.—Tashkent. All movement on the Central 
Asiatic line has stopped.— Kiev. The South-Western 


820 IRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


raily .y employees have struck and the train service 
has ¢ :ased.—Irkutsk. The last train on the Siberian 
railway left yesterday, and the town is now isolated.” 
It showed a most wonderful unanimity and a power 
of organization among the revolutionists, which no 
one had suspected, to combine in this monster protest 


against the contii autocracy. 

At 9 p.m. we! | 1 am soon asleep, fondly 
imagining that zx day would see me on the 
banks of the ‘ext morning at eleven we 
reach Kavkazk feous station, where lines 
branch off to | and Stavropol. A porter 
comes in and c ms me that I can go no 
further ; the del ‘ Rostoff have arrived that 


morning and given orders that all trains north of 
Kavkazkaya should stop. The only course for me 
to follow is to retrace my steps, for this splendid 
station has no town or village behind it; it is a 
station e¢ preterea nihil. So back I go towards 
Vladikavkaz in the pleasing uncertainty as to whether 
I may not be stranded on the wayside. A Jew 
from Baku comes into my compartment and informs 
me that if he is stranded he will go to the district 
authorities and insist on being given a special train or 
a carriage and horses, for it was his duty and his right 
to move on. “Why?” I asked. ‘ Because I ama 
Jew, and as such the law forbids me to stop in the 
Terek province ; I am a loyal subject of the Tzar and 
mean to obey his laws.” However, there was no need 
for him to invoke his rights, for we were safely con- 
veyed past Minerallniya Vody to Vladikavkaz, which 
we reached at 1 a.m. 


36 page 820, 


Tue Groxcian Roav. 


View or THe Kaznex. 


OVER THE FROSTY CAUCASUS 321 


There I was stuck for an indefinite time with 
nothing to do. The wonderful view of the Caucasus 
rising up out of the plain, like a great wall of ice and 
snow, was not enough to occupy me all day, and Vladi- 
kavkaz has no other resources. Like many other 
Russian towns it is built on rectangular lines, the 
streets are broad but dirty and ill-kept ; the houses 
are fairly well built but uninteresting ; there are a few 
decent hotels, and a population of some 45,000o—a 
very mixed and very shady lot,- picturesque and 
villainous. I have rarely seen a place more full of 
rufhans than the bazar, and murders and robbery were 
everyday occurrences. Only two days ago a band of 
Ingushes had come into the town, murdered several 
people, plundered a couple of houses, and ridden off 
undisturbed. The night before I arrived a band of 
seventy Chechens had held up a train near Grozny, 
murdered fifteen passengers and two guards, and made 
off with a large amount of booty. 

Every day I went to the station to find out when 
communications were likely to be restored, and always 
received the same answer: “No news.” Each 
morning a train left Vladikavkaz trying to get 
through, and every evening it returned, like the 
doves sent out of the Ark. Never did I realize my 
ignorance of Russian (bad) language as in thdse 
days, for I longed to swear at everything and 
everybody in Russia, and be understanded of the 
people. 

But I was destined to witness more serious excite- 
ment than that caused by strikes and murders. On 
Tuesday, October 31st, the newsboys came out cry- 

21 


3.2 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 

ing “Vutsochaishy Manifest /" (Imperial Manifesto) 
and on a small slip of paper I read the Magna Chart: 
of Russian freedom. By strikes and uprisings thi 
workmen and intellectuals had wrested political right 
from an unwilling autocracy. Within a couple o 
hours a demonstration is organized. The extremist 
soon get the ~-~~-=“"=~5 into their own hands, ant 


patriotic entk nverted into a Social Demo 
cratic dem he schoolboys, who alway: 
take the 1 occasions, are very con 
spicuous in . parading the Alexandroysky 
Prospekt. large crowd gathers, and th 
whole popt 10 it into the streets to discus: 
the great ne sratulate each other on being 


free. Red flags wuu .he word Svoboda (freedom) 
painted on them are waved, and the bands begin tc 
play. The first in the field is the military band, 
which attempts the Imperial hymn. But the school 
band follows suit with the Marsei/aise. A musical 
duel is engaged between the two airs, recalling 2 
similar episode in Tchaikovsky's “1812” overture, 
where the Russian anthem eventually drowns the 
French march, to symbolize Napoleon's defeat before 
Moscow. But at Vladikavkaz it turns out differently 
The anthem is greeted with hoots and hisses, and is 
finally howled down, whereas the Marsecllaise i: 
cheered enthusiastically. Other ‘subversive ” airs art 
sung, including that most mournful of revolutionary 
songs—Rabochy Narod. 

The demonstrators are for the most part extremel 
youthful, many of the schoolboys not being more thar 
ten or twelve. There are also some genuine working 


Rostorr-on-tHe-Dow, Burnt Jewish House. 


Tue Damat Gorcm 


Te face page 328. 


OVER THE FROSTY CAUCASUS 323 


men, among whom I notice a type of revolutionary 
artisan such as is common throughout Europe— 
short, thin, wiry, nervous, pale-faced, keen-eyed, half- 
educated, full of ill-digested political ideas. Cau- 
casians in native dress are there too, and a sprinkling 
of military and ¢chznovnzk uniforms. Windows and 
balconies are crowded with spectators, some of whom 
wave red handkerchiefs and are cheered in return. 
From one balcony a solitary figure in a blue uniform 
is gazing sadly at the proceedings; he is the local 
commandant of gendarmes, and he is doubtless 
reflecting that now ‘“ Othello’s occupation’s gone.” 
Speeches of a revolutionary character are delivered 
here and there, advocating not a monarchical consti- 
tution, but a democratic republic. A halt is made 
before a girls’ school, and the vzrgines doctez, on being 
invited to join the procession, explain that they 
cannot do so, as they have been locked in. 

But the mild comedy was destined to have a tragic 
end. The first sign of trouble came the same 
evening, when a Jewish doctor was set upon by | 
roughs posing as loyalists, who accused him of 
having insulted the Tzar. The next morning I 
was walking along the Alexandrovsky Prospekt, 
when I was startled by the sound of firing, and 
saw a crowd of people rushing madly down the 
street. In an instant the iron shutters of the shops 
came down with a bang and every street door was 
closed. The red-flag procession had been repeated, 
but had met a counter-demonstration of “ patriots” 
of the lowest classes, who had not read the manifesto 
and thought that the intellectuals were engaged in 


(RE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


a ¢ piracy to insult the Tzar. No doubt there 
wet eople who had taken the trouble to tell them 
this, This procession, which carried Russian flags 
and rtraits of the Tzar, included a number of 
huligc i, who were only too ready to seize the 
chance of plundering and maltreating well-dressed 


persons. A © veen the two groups of 
demonstrators o ad some of the school- 
boys, fright enacing attitude of their 
opponents, fir avolvers. The troops on 
guard at the 26 then intervened, shoot- 
ing became gen everal people were killed 
and wounded. 

Then the rough themselves protected by 


the troops, fell on the schoolboys with sticks, fists, 
and knives, and two of them were literally torn to 
pieces. A student who had made an anti-monarchical 
speech, or was said to have done so, was dragged 
from his cab by some fifty hooligans and beaten to 
death before my eyes. As he lay dying on the pave- 
ment streaming with blood the savage brutes around 
him yelled out “Yeshtcho/” (‘Give him some more!”) 
until they had finished him. For a short space things 
were quieter, the iron shutters went up again, and 
knots of people gathered together once more. Then 
more shots were fired in the bazar; this time it was 
an encounter between the troops and some Socialist 
workmen ; the grey and black uniforms of the school- 
boys had all disappeared. It was said that a bomb 
had been thrown at the troops from a certain 
Armenian house, where by a curious coincidence the 
police-master resided, and although it proved to be 


Kosranr-orcrieDox, TeTHRIOR OF THE SYNAGOGUE AFTER THE pogrom, 


OVER THE FROSTY CAUCASUS 325 


unfounded, the soldiers and Cossacks riddled it with 
bullets, broke in, and, accompanied by the mob, 
sacked it from roof to cellar, smashing everything 
they could not carry off. The Cossacks then pro- 
ceeded to loot a number of neighbouring shops and 
houses in their accustomed way. 

Gradually order was restored, and in the evening a 
thanksgiving service for the Rescript was held in the 
open air. Thus was freedom celebrated at the foot 
of the Caucasus. 

A few days later the train service was started 
once more, and I was able to leave for Rostoff. The 
whole way I heard nothing but tales of riots, 
massacre, and fighting in other towns, compared with 
which what I had witnessed at Vladikavkaz was but 
child's play. At Rostoff itself I saw the effects 
of the abominable anti-Semitic outrages, and whole 
streets laid in ruins. From Rostoff onwards it was 
everywhere the same thing. The train was crowded 
with Jewish refugees, from Kiev and Odessa chiefly, 
and ghastly indeed were the tales they told of what 
Christians had done. One realized the state of mind 
which made the Sainte Barthélemy possible. How 
many prayers of thankfulness must have been breathed 
that day as our train at last steamed into the station 
of Podwoloczyska, and the black and yellow posts 
which mark the Austrian boundary appeared! 


CHAPTER XVII 
RECENT EVENTS IN THE CAUCASUS 


HE disturbances which I had witnessed at 

Vladikavkaz were reproduced on a larger or 
smaller scale in many other Caucasian towns, and 
ever since then the agitation has continued in one 
form or another. A summary of the principal events 
in Transcaucasia during the last few months is needed 
to complete the sketch which I have given of that 
much-disturbed country. The manifesto of October 
3oth was followed by a series of outbreaks between 
the revolutionists and the Government, which at Baku 
took the form of a recrudescence of Armeno-Tartar 
hostility. Then, while the authorities resorted once 
more to a policy of brutal repression against the 
Socialists and Georgian revolutionists, the Armeno- 
Tartar feud continued unabated, and gave rise to 
a series of outbreaks. 

On October 28th a general political strike broke 
out at Tiflis, organized by the Social Democrats 
acting in sympathy with those of Russia, in order to 
bring about the introduction of constitutional govern- 
ment. The schools closed, the train service was 
stopped, and the air was full of excitement and appre- 


\< 


RECENT EVENTS IN THE CAUCASUS 327 


hension. Two days later the Tzar’s manifesto was 
published and the whole population turned out to 
exult and celebrate the event. The turbulent and 
revolutionary elements came to the fore, red flag pro- 
cessions paraded the streets, and orators raised on the 
shoulders of stalwart workmen made impassioned 
speeches. One speaker pointed out some of the finest 
houses in the town, and said, ‘“‘ You think that that 
house belongs to Mr. X., do you not? You are 
wrong, it belongs to you!” Another proposed that 
the Viceroy should be hanged, while a third demanded 
the blood of all the officials and schoolmasters. But 
in spite of wild speeches, the temper of the crowd was 
one of rejoicing and happiness, and no violence was 
actually committed. 

The next day came the patriotic demonstration, 
headed by an officer carrying a portrait of the Tzar; 
the procession included many well-dressed people who 
waved Russian flags and sang the National Anthem, 
and was escorted by Cossacks and police. There was 
gaiety and high spirits at first, but unfortunately as the 
procession was returning from the Vera suburb it 
encountered some schoolboys and Socialist demonstra- 
tors, who refused to doff their caps, at the corner of the 
Baryatinskaya Street. A shot was fired no one knows 
whence, and the troops then discharged whole volleys 
into the crowd and against the houses where revolu- 
tionists were supposed to be sheltered, and the cavalry 
trampled people underfoot. For several days the 
disturbances went on, during which large numbers 
were killed and wounded, including some schoolboys 
in the gymnasium where they had been pursued by 


328 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


Cossacks, and three houses were bombarded by the 
artillery. Even after the fighting ceased the unrest 
continued, and it was not until November roth that 
a semblance of order was established and the town 
resumed its normal aspect. 

While these events were occurring at Tiflis, Baku 
was undergoing its third pogrom, which was, however, 
much less serious than the other two. On the famous 
gist of October the Social Democrats organized a 
procession consisting chiefly of Russians, although a 
number of Armenians and some Tartars took part in 
it, The proceedings were orderly at first, but it was 
unlikely that in an atmosphere as highly charged as 
that of Baku any demonstration could end peacefully. 
A second demonstration was organized for the next 
day. That evening a prominent Tartar named Hadji 
Arslan Ashuroff, who had walked with the demon- 
strators, was summoned by the Governor-General, and 
asked by him if he was going to take part in further red 
flag processions, Ashuroff said that he would, where- 
upon General Fadeieff asked him, “Do you know 
what the red flag means?” ‘It means a demonstra- 
tion for the manifesto,” replied the Tartar. “No it 
does not, my friend ; it means a demonstration against 
the Tzar. You Tartars must have nothing to do with 
it.” Ashuroff understood, and the next day a loyalist 
procession was organized under police auspices, in 
which he and many of his co-religionists took part. 
Several Armenian houses were plundered and burnt, 
and collisions between Liberals and reactionaries, the 
latter reinforced by Tartar roughs, occurred at various 
points. On November 3rd a number of Armenians 


RECENT EVENTS IN THE CAUCASUS 329 


were murdered at Bailoff. The 4th passed off quietly, 
but on the 5th a thanksgiving service was held at the 
Russian Cathedral, at which many Tartars were pre- 
sent, but no Jews nor Armenians, for a friendly Tartar 
named Safaralieff had warned them that they would 
be in danger. A patriotic meeting was afterwards 
held, at which the question of further demonstrations 
was discussed. The more moderate and liberal party 
—two currents of opinion had now appeared among 
the Tartars—took the line that no more processions 
should be held; the more violent reactionary spirits 
thought that the occasion was too good to be wasted, 
and that a demonstration should parade the Armenian 
quarter on the plea that no Russian flags had appeared 
there (it seemed monstrous that the Armenians should 
not love the Russian Government). 

A rumour reached the assembly that forty-seven 
Russian women and children had been murdered by 
Armenians. The moderate party sent a deputation 
to the Governor-General to find out if this were true, 
and were informed that it was a pure invention. But 
the Jatriotards insisted on going to the Armenian 
quarter, and General Fadeieff finally gave them per- 
mission and an escort of Cossacks. As was only to 
be expected, the demonstrators proceeded to plunder 
and burn houses and shops, and even attacked a 
refuge for the aged. But they killed nobody, leaving 
that task to the Cossacks, who killed or wounded 
about eighty people. On the 6th an order was issued 
to the troops to fire on looters, and peace was at once 
restored. 

On this occasion the leading Tartars seem to have 


330 E AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


trie keep order, the trouble being due to the 
ho 3, both Russian and Tartar. Subsequently 
a jc ,roclamation was issued by several revolu- 
tion: — :ommittees, including a Moslem one, stating 
that tr had formed an alliance to protect innocent 
people ‘om the hooligans. 

In the Wectern Caneaene disturbances of all sorts 


continued. | lers and robbery were 
more numerot tikes broke out, and the 
whole life suspended for weeks. 
Various ot! ‘ere in open revolt, and 
a bombardm had to be resorted to. 
In Guria cx lace from the 29th of 
October onwa gety the Gurians held 
their own against i; a large part of the 


railway was in the hands of the revolutionists, and 
the train service stopped. At Kutais disturbances 
took place and the revolutionary party was predomi- 
nant. On the 14th M. Staroselsky, the Governor, 
went to Tiflis by a special train provided by the 
revolutionists to confer with the Viceroy. The 
Government was still disposed to treat the Georgians 
leniently, and M. Staroselsky received a mandate to 
abolish martial law in Georgia and make wide con- 
cessions. Trains were not yet running between Tiflis 
and the West, but on the 17th the Social Demo- 
crats again ran a special for M. Staroselsky, which 
left Tiflis draped with red flags amidst the cheers of 
the people. Although some further collisions between 
the troops and the Georgians occurred, the Western 
provinces were more or less pacified for a time, and 
the Gurian question appeared satisfactorily settled. 


Kurats. Suctat-Dewnckatic Demosstea rion is Ocrontn. 
Photo by J. Gordon Brovene. 


Vite 1S Octet, Chssacks ON Geant. 


hy De tieedon Beane 


RECENT EVENTS IN THE CAUCASUS 331 


This ‘Pax Caucasica” lasted about a fortnight, 
during which every one thought that the Empire was 
on the high-road to freedom and prosperity. But 
at the end of November the town of Elizavetpol, 
which had hitherto been free from disturbances, felt 
that its reputation as a respectable Caucasian city 
was seriously compromised, and that it must not 
remain out in the cold. Elizavetpol has some 33,000 
inhabitants, of whom the majority are Tartars and 
the rest Armenians; the government of which it is 
the capital contains 557,000 Moslems (of whom 
374,000 are Shiahs) and 293,000 Armenians. 
Throughout the summer and autumn a number of 
outbreaks had occurred in the province, though not 
in the town, where only murders and abductions had 
been committed. The Governor-General Takaishvili 
took no measures to avert trouble, although the two 
races were arming fast. The town is divided into 
two parts by the Ghanjinka, at that time a dry water- 
course ; the Armenians live on the right bank, the 
Tartars on the left. On the 29th of November the 
Tartars, reinforced by armed and mounted bands 
from outside, proceeded to attack the Armenians, 
but the latter, although less numerous, were better 
disciplined. For two days the fighting went on, and 
a large part of the town was set on fire. General 
Takaishvili ordered the troops not to interfere, but at 
last the Viceroy dismissed him and put General 
Fleischer in his place. The latter now took ener- 
getic measures and placed a detachment of troops at 
the bridge across the Ghanjinka, with one gun pointing 
up stream and another down, and he threatened to 


332 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


fire on all who should try to cross. But fighting did 
take place on a large and systematic scale; the 
station, which is five versts from the town, was 
defended by some soldiers and Armenian and Russian 
volunteers against a horde of Tartars. A good half 
of Elizavetpol was in flames, and numbers of people 
were killed. General Malama now arrived from 
Tiflis with reinforcements, inflicted heavy losses on 
the Tartars, and insisted on a pacification. Both 
parties were disposed to stop fighting, but unfortu- 
nately some Tartars were murdered in the Armenian 
quarter and some Armenians in the Tartar quarter 
very soon after, and fighting began again. It is said 
that a number of police agents went about carefully 
undoing the work done by General Malama, and 
egging on the two races against each other. Never- 
theless, after a few days’ desultory firing, quiet was 
restored. In the remote districts there were sporadic 
encounters from time to time, and Tartar bands 
plundered the countryside. 

The Elizavetpol riots were followed by a similar 
outbreak at Tiflis a few days later. The Tartars 
there number about 10,000 or 15,000, and live in the 
southern quarters round the Maidan. The trouble 
began with the inevitable series of murders of Tartars 
and Armenians, which many people believe to have 
been organized or instigated by the police. Much 
excitement was caused thereby, and it spread to 
the surrounding country. On December 3rd the 
Tartars and Turks attacked the Armenians in the 
bazar quarter, but the Christians being prepared, 
defended themselves successfully and burnt some 


RECENT EVENTS IN THE CAUCASUS 333 


Tartar houses. But a rumour was spread about 
that the Tartars from Bortchalu, a place south- 
west of Tiflis, were marching towards the city to 
plunder it under the leadership of one Yedigaroff, a 
Tartar officer in the Russian army, and that a number 
of Georgian and Armenian villages had been looted 
and their inhabitants killed. There was great alarm 
among all classes, and the Solalaki quarter, where the 
Armenians live, ‘‘ was,” in the words of an eye-witness, 
“like a disturbed ant-hill. Many families left Tiflis, 
and every man armed himself, even the schoolboys 
went about with revolver or £z#ja/.”, Mounted troops 
patrolled the town ceaselessly, and the Viceroy solemnly 
promised the citizens that the Bortchalu Tartars would 
be kept out. The Armenians occupied the citadel hill 
and the Avlabar on the opposite side of the river, thus 
commanding the Bortchalu road. Suddenly it became 
known that Tartars from other places had come into the 
town ; a deputation of the town council immediately 
repaired to the Viceroy at 9 p.m., and after waiting 
some hours was informed by his Excellency that he 
had promised to keep out the Bortchalu Tartars, and 
this he had done, but he was not responsible for the 
others! However he promised to expel those who 
had got in and prevent further incursions. The 
Maidan (Tartan quarter) was still in flames, and a 
determined attack on the Armenian position was 
made by the Bortchalu Tartars, who were driven 
back with heavy losses. For two or three days the 
fighting continued, but the Armenians were admirably 
organized and disciplined and gave a very good 
account of themselves, 


334 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


Then the Social Democrats held a meeting and 
decided that the Tartar-Armenian feud was not in 
accordance with Socialist principles, and must be 
stopped. They sent a deputation to the Viceroy, 
who had completely lost his head, offering to restore 
order if he gave them arms; by some strange freak 
of the bureaucratic mind the offer was accepted and 
500 rifles were served out to the Socialists. They 
marched forth in a body and took up positions in 
the Avlabar and the botanical gardens between the 
Armenians and the Tartars. But the Tartars did 
not see the point, and proceeded to fire on the 
Socialists for all the world as if they had been 
Armenians, and killed a few of them, whereupon the 
Socialists promptly retreated behind the Armenian 
lines. Finally some reinforcements of troops arrived, 
and General Malama intervened and occupied the 
positions hitherto held by the Armenians who were 
sent back into the town. By December 12th the 
Tartar attacks ceased, and eventually a pacification 
was arranged in the usual way. The officers of 
the garrison told the Viceroy that the fact that the 
defence of the town was entrusted to Armenian, 
Georgian, and Russian volunteers was an insult to 
the army, whereupon he ordered the revolutionaries 
to give up their arms, This they refused to do, and 
finally a compromise was agreed to, by which the 
defence of Tiflis was undertaken by the troops and 
volunteers together. Soldiers and revolutionists fra- 
ternized and all went on happily for a few weeks, but 
murders and fires proceeded without abatement. 

Three weeks later this much-tried city was again 


RECENT EVENTS IN THE CAUCASUS 335 


the scene of disturbances, due this time not to Tartar- 
Armenian hatred but to the general wave of reaction 
which now set in all over Russia. A meeting of 
officials and officers, under the presidency of General 
Gryaznoff, was held at the headquarters’ staff, where 
a series of repressive measures was organized. 
Numbers of people were arrested, and a general 
reversal of the former conciliatory policy was in- 
augurated. The Tartar General Alikhanoff was 
made Governor-General of Tiflis, and martial law 
was proclaimed. A strike of railwaymen and post 
and telegraph clerks broke out on December 28th as 
a protest against the reaction, and spread to other 
trades. For some days Tiflis was without food or 
kerosene. The authorities issued an order that on 
the 30th, at midday, the shops must reopen, under 
threats of fines and imprisonment, but the revo- 
lutionary committee insisted on their being closed, 
and closed they remained. On January 3rd the 
committee gave orders that the strike was to end, 
and the shops were to reopen at midday, promising 
security to the inhabitants. At midday every shop 
was open. But disturbances did not altogether 
cease. Some bombs were thrown, and _ several 
houses destroyed by the troops. On the 7th the 
soldiers and Cossacks proceeded to loot the shops, 
near which bombs had exploded. They set some 
houses on fire, and shot down all the inmates who 
tried to escape. Another detachment proceeded to 
a general massacre of railwaymen; no one knows 
how many were killed, but eye-witnesses report that 
several cartloads of bodies were removed at night. 


336 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 
General Gryaznoff, who had organised the repression, 
was assassinated a month later. 

When order was restored in Tiflis General Ali- 
khanoff was sent into Western Georgia as Governor- 
General to crush the revolutionary movement. The 
Gurians and Imeretins held the line between 
Mikhailovo and Batum, and resisted desperately. 
Whole districts were now given over to the 
Cossacks and devastated. Mikhailovo, Karely, 
Chiatury, Kvirili, Notaneby, and other villages 
were bombarded and burnt, as well as parts of 
Ozurgety, Batum, Poti, and Kutais. In Batum and 
Kutais there were barricades and severe street fight- 
ing. The Cossacks committed nameless atrocities on 
the inhabitants, behaving exactly like bashi-buzuks. 
In the course of the repression an extraordinary and 
almost incredible incident occurred. An impostor, 
who passed himself off as an azde-de-camp to General 
Alikhanoff, went about the country, and was given 
detachments of Cossacks, with which he plundered 
and burnt several villages, and actually arrested 
M. Staroselsky and his assistant at Kutais, and 
sent them to General Alikhanoffs headquarters! 
On their meeting the General the imposture was 
discovered, but the azde-de-camp had disappeared. 
Some people are inclined to doubt whether the man 
were really an impostor after all, and whether perhaps 
he might not be merely a tool of the police. Colour 
is given to this suspicion by the fact that all through 
these events the Government has been following two 
lines of policy, and also by the fact that M. Staroselsky 
and his assistant, although not under arrest, are now 


RECENT EVENTS IN THE CAUCASUS 337 


being tried for complicity with the revolutionists. 
The whole of this preposterous story was printed 
in the Russian press, where the initials of the 
impostor were given. 

Gradually the troops succeeded in getting the upper 
hand. One by one the railway stations were re- 
captured and communications restored about the end 
of January, although the service continued to be 
extremely erratic, as large numbers of the railway- 
men had been killed or imprisoned, and the rest 
were thoroughly disaffected. Wholesale arrests and 
shooting went on for weeks, but the leaders of the 
movement succeeded in escaping. All the towns and 
many of the villages were more or less “ pacified,” 
and the revolution may be regarded as crushed. But 
the committees are by no means dead, and are resort- 
ing to their old methods of terrorism, assassination, 
and bomb-throwing. 

“Neither the Government nor the revolutionists,” 
a well-informed foreign resident writes to me from 
Batum, “has achieved a definite result. The former 
has, however, reacquired a part of its lost prestige, 
owing to the effective action of the troops who have 
not only shown themselves loyal to the old régime, 
but here in the Caucasus, on account of racial and 
other differences, have acted with cruelty: and ferocity. 
The situation is anything but a happy one, and we 
are further than ever from a real pacification and a 
return to normal existence.” 

The general position of things in the Caucasus may 
be summed up as follows : in Western Transcaucasia 
revolt against the Government repressed by force, 

22 


districts 
1 A nari ew weiner ietginicee Seared 
undisturbed. Count Vorontzoff-Dashkoff, his nerves 
shattered and his health broken, now swayed by 
Sultan Krym-Ghirei and M. Staroselsky, inclines 
towards liberalism, now by the Ober-Polttsmetster 
and Ce ee rae 


What ie cntccns afidaracardhapssilt bs I do not 
venture to prophesy. But we may draw certain 
deductions from known facts. In the first place the 
conditions of the Caucasus will depend primarily on 
those of Russia itself. The triumph of the reaction— 
the permanent triumph, I mean, if such a thing be 
possible—will result in the perpetuating of the present 
state of things, viz., anarchy repressed, but always 
more or less latent and ready to break out whenever 
the Government, owing to external circumstances, is 
weakened. In no case will the authorities be able to 
count on a revival of loyalty to Tzardom and of 
reactionary tendencies among the masses as they can 
to a large extent in Russia. The Caucasian peoples 
have none of that sacred veneration for the person of 
the Tzar which the Russian peasants feel; they can 
only be made to acquiesce in reaction by force, and 
as rebels they are more difficult to deal with, in their 
mountain fastnesses, than the Russian inhabitants of 
plains and broad-streeted cities. 


RECENT EVENTS IN THE CAUCASUS 339 


If, on the other hand, the Liberals triumph to any 
extent and some form of constitution is introduced, 
there is more chance of really pacifying the Caucasus. 
At the same time it must not be thought that the 
problem will be easily settled, as some enthusiastic 
revolutionists imagine. Hatred of Russia and the 
racial and religious differences, which recent events 
have intensified, must be taken into account, and 
some form of government devised by which justice 
shall be done to all sections of the community. The 
Georgian Nationalists, whose views I have set forth in 
detail in another chapter, desire the autonomy of the 
Caucasus, and possibly a special autonomy for 
Georgia. The Social Democrats, on the other hand, 
would disregard all racial distinctions and apply a 
sort of procrustean bed of uniformity to the whole 
Empire on a basis of crude and ill-digested economic 
and political theories. The Armenians to some 
extent oppose autonomy, as they fear they will be 
swamped by other more numerous races. The 
Tartars, they say, will “plump” for the candi- 
dates proposed by their own khans and begs without 
question, so that the Armenians will be almost 
unrepresented. Others, however, believe that by a 
system of proportional representation this danger 
will be avoided, and here I think they are right. 
In my opinion proportional representation is the only 
fair basis of election in countries where the popula- 
tion is mixed and national feeling runs high. In the 
Caucasus, nationalism has been greatly increased and 
strengthened by recent events, and even the Tartars 
are being imbued with a sense of their common racial 


340 FIRE AND SWORD IN THE CAUCASUS 


origin. The great bulk of the Armenian people would 
be satisfied with a régime which protected them from 
the attacks of the Tartars, guaranteed the immunity 
and independence of their Church, allowed them free- 
dom of education, and left them in peace to attend to 
their own affairs ; in the matter of political rights they 
ask for nothing more than a very moderate form of 
constitution, and an honest and responsible administra- 
tion. Were these demands granted, they would be 
the pillars of law and order in the Caucasus, the 
steadiest and most reliable element of the population. 

On the question of liberty of language and educa- 
tion, all sections of the community are agreed. There 
is also no disagreement as to the necessity that the 
Government put an end once and for all to brigan- 
dage and private vengeance, which contribute more 
than anything else to retard the development of 
the country. 

The races of the Caucasus contain many valuable 
elements which should prove of great use to Russia, 
and indeed to the common patrimony of civilization. 
They possess many qualities in which the Russians are 
deficient, and might thus provide a leaven to the inert 
and somewhat inorganic mass of the mujiks. But, on 
the other hand, they themselves require to be under 
the protection of a strong Empire, which alone can 
prevent internecine racial and religious warfare, and 
ensure their economic and civil development ; at all 
events for the present they cannot stand alone any 
more than Poland can. If the Caucasus is less 
exposed to foreign aggression than Poland, it is far 
more divided, and has no national unity. But the 


RECENT EVENTS IN THE CAUCASUS 341 


Russia under whom they can prosper should be a 
very different one from that which has existed at 
present. It remains to be seen whether a liberalized 
and progressive Russia will succeed in dealing with 
the problem which the autocratic and bureaucratic 
Russia has failed to solve. 


INDEX 


A 


Abkhazians, 23, 24 

Adamoff, 195 

Adjars, 21, 46, 57 

Adrianople, Treaty of, 147 

Afrikian, 230 

Aga Mohammedan Khan, 31 

Agaieff, 168, 188 

Akhaltzykh, 31, 147 

Aladja Chai, river, 296 

Alagéz, Mount, 213 

Alagoz-Masra, 273, 287 

Alazan valley, 21 

Alexander the Great, 27 

Alexandersdorf, 102 

Alexandropol, 213, 292-93 

Alikhanoff, General, 35, 275-76, 
335-36 

Alp Arslan, 299 

Amilahory, Prince, 127 

Anarchists, 79 

Anglo-Russian relations, 151-52, 
251-52 

Ani, 293-311 

Annanur, 316 

Anne, Empress of Russia, 18 

Apsheron Peninsula, 179, 182 

Arabs, 28, 298 

Aragva, 316-17 

Ararat, Mount, 213-16, 221 

Araxes, river, 255-58 

Architecture, Armenian, 303 sg. 


Architecture, Georgian, 65-66 

Argutinsky, General, 35 

Arpa Chai, river, 296 

Arsakid dynasty, 297 

Armenia, 297 sq. 

Armenians, 7-8, 20, 21, 51, 108-10, 
122, 125, 130, 139-41, 144 Sq. 
186-90, 213, 217-22, 269, 331-34, 
339-40 

Armenian Church, 22, 36, 146, 155- 
57, 165-66, 172, 232 Sq., 242-43 

Armenian Committees, 157-58, 197, 
200, 204-5 

Ashot I., King of Armenia, 298 

Ashot II., King of Armenia, 298 

Ashost, Bishop, 197 

Ashuroff, Hadji Arslan, 328 

Assad Aga, see Kingerlinsky 

Avars, 24 

Azerbajan, 22, 147, 298-300 


B 
Babaieff, 194 
Bagrat III., King of Georgia, 28 
Bagratid dynasty, 28, 297-98 
Bailoff, 186, 329 
Baku, 144, 146-47, 171-72, 179 sy., 
IQI sq., 328-30 
Baladjary, 179 
Balakhany, 182, 201-2 
Batum, 45 sq., 330, 336-37 


Buh INDEX 

Beni-Cheddad, 300 F 

ee feeng tas Jaws 205-6 Fadeief, General, 200, 203-4, 328- 

Bick Tees nie eng toes 

Bortchals, 333 nae gh ha eM 
c Fleischer, General, 331 

Caspian Sea, 179 

Catherine II., Empress of Russia, 30 Gc 

Casas 10 se Se "G," ©: nS kag 

Chakon, 59, Gaghik of Armenia, 

caval ce tae a Gaghik 11. of Armenia, 

V3 35 - 

Chavchavadze, Prince Ilya, 68 299 — 

Chechens, 24 Gagry, 44 

Chiatury, 18, 336 Galust, Father, 244 

Colchis, 17, 19, 45 Gasparinsky, Ismail Beg, 168 

Cossacks, 25, 39, 50, 124-25, 202, | Genghis Khan, 29, 300 


325, 329, 335-36 
Cross, Pass of the, 312, 317 


D 


Dabeda Chai, river, 210 

Daghestan, 24 

Darial Gorge, 319 

Darial Pass, see Cross, Pass of 
the 

David IIL, King of Georgia, 28 

David, Prince of Georgia, 32 

David the Renovator, 28 

Derbent, 30, 183 

Djafar Kuli Khan, 266, 270, 283 

Djagry, 273, 286 

Djulfa, 252, 260, 261 

Dushet, 316 


E 
Elizavetpol, 66, 179, 331-32 
Enkel, 270 
Erivan, 146, 216 sq. 
Etchmiadzin, 146-47, 233 sq. 
Exarch of Georgia, 33 


George XIII., King of Georgia, 31- 
32 

Georgia, 27-32 

Georgians, 21, 51-52, 56-6o, 63-64, 
68-70, 110-11, 122-25, 131, 330 

Georgian Church, 36 

Georgian Nationalists, 72, 339 

Georgian road, 25, 312 sq. 

Gernussi, 218-19 

Ghanja, see Elizavetpol 

Ghanjinka, 331 

Ghelati Monastery, 65-66 

Golytzin, Prince, 71, 
153-57, 169-71, 192 

Greeks, 25, 50, §1, 297-99 

Gregorian Church, see Armenian 

Gryaznoff, General, 335-36 

Gudaur, 317 

Gurians, 21, 51-52, \57, 84 s9., 330 
336-37 


118, 128, 


H 


Henchakists, 149-50 
Heyat, 168, 174 


INDEX 


I 


Iberia, see Georgia 

Tevlakh, 196 

Imeretins, 51, 63 

Independence, party of, 79 

Ingur, river, 21 

Irakli II., King of Georgia, 30, 31 
Itkran, 274 

Ittiad, 174 


J 
Jehanghir, Javat Aga, 197 


K 


Kabardins, 23-24 

Kakhetins, 21 

Karabagh, 146, 176-78 

Karakliss, 210-11 

Karapet, Archimandrite, see Ter- 
Mkrtchian 

Kareby, 336 

Kargo, 294 

Kars, 209 

Kaspii, 168 

Katholikos, 28, 242, 246 

Kavkazkaya, 320 

Kazbek, 318-19 

Khal-khal, 273, 287 

Khanates, 145 

Khans, 158-61, 167, 187, 266, 268 

Khartoels or Kharthi, see Georgians 

Khevsurs, 22 

Kingerlinsky, Assad Aga, 271 

Knorring, General, 32 

Kobi, 318 

Komitas, Father, 244 

Krestovaya Gou, see Cross, Pass of 

Krym-Ghirei, Sultan, 132-33, 171, 
338 

Kura, 100, 101, 177-79, 210, 316 

Kurds, 23, 218 

Kutais, 61 sq., 330, 336 

Kvirili, 100, 336 


345 


L 
Lalaieff, 195 
Lazareff, General, 35, 146 


M 


“M.,” Prince, 75-76 

Makar, Katholikos, 153 

Malama, General, 128, 171, 332, 334 

Melik-Agamaloff, 270 

Melikates, Armenian, 146 

Melikoff, General Loris, 35, 145, 
148 

Mesrop, Father, 269, 278 

Migrtich, Katholikos, 156, 246-50 

Mikhailovo, 100, 336 

Mingrelia, 61 

Mingrelians, 21, 51, 63 

Minkend, 218-19 

Mirian, King of Georgia, 27 

Mlety, 317 

Mohammedans, 21, 23, 63, 111-12 ; 
see also Sunnis and Shiahs 

Moslems, see Mohammedans 

Mtzkhet, 27, 316 


N 


Nadir, Shah of Persia, 30, 31, 224 

Nakashidze, Prince, 35, 171, 192, 
194-96, 218, 247 

Nakhitchevan, 146, 258-59, 265 sq. 

Nakhitchuvansky family, 275, 280 ; 
see also Raghim Khan and Djafar 
Kuli Khan 

Napoleon, Prince Louis, 125, 135- 
36, 318-22, 228, 276 

Narodny Sud, 93-99 

Nazarabad, 273, 285-86 

Nikoladze, 45 

Nogai Tartars, 23 

Nonne, Colonel von der, 229 

Notaneby, 88, 336 

Notaneby, river, 91, 94 

Novorossiisk, 41, 43-44 


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